


A Devil Put Aside for Me

by Larilyn



Series: Once Upon A Dream [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Amnesiac Bucky Barnes, Awesome Darcy Lewis, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, F/M, James "Bucky" Barnes & Kate Bishop Friendship, Protective Peter Parker, Sam Wilson is a Gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2020-11-09 07:16:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 39
Words: 90,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20849588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larilyn/pseuds/Larilyn
Summary: Bucky comes face to face with the Ghost Rider. When the penance stare wipes out his memory, will Darcy be able to bring him back? How will Kate cope with her crime lord father? Will Peter and Shuri find the strength to rescue Miles and Gwen? Will Sam and Daisy be able to pick up the pieces after their pasts come back to haunt them? And what happens when HYDRA starts experimenting on teenagers?





	1. Prologue: Moonage Daydream

**Author's Note:**

> The third story in my Wintershocky little corner of the multiverse. Tony is alive. Steve is young. Natasha is happy. The Agents of SHIELD are in the mix. And spider-teens run amok.

Miles

“Okay start again at the beginning,” Miles begged. “Because I don't get it.”

“I get it,” Gwen shrugged.

“Well excuse me, if I don't have the brainpower of you three,” he scowled, pointing to Gwen Stacy, then Peter Parker, then Princess Shuri.

“Okay, so this is what happened,” Peter began.

“Nope.” Miles stopped him with a hand up and then pointed to Shuri. “She's gonna explain. Because you're way too scattered.”

“M'not scattered,” Peter mumbled.

“So here's what happened,” Shuri explained. “Thanos won.”

“But...”

“I know. That's not what you remember. But trust me. Thanos snapped his fingers and half of all life in the universe was reduced to dust. Including me. And Peter.” She pointed to the adults that were around the other bonfire on their beach. “And Agents James Barnes, Kate Bishop, Sam Wilson, Daisy Johnson, Dr. Jemma Simmons, my brother, and Darcy Lewis, among others. We all were just gone. Except we weren't. Because when Thanos sacrificed Gamora to retrieve the Soul Stone, it gave her dominion over it. And within a facet of it, she made a community. All of us were there except for Dr. Fitz.” She made a little hand motion to encompass everyone on the beach except for Gwen and Miles and the aforementioned Fitz. “We lived there for a whole year.”

“But...”

“Let me finish,” Shuri scolded. “While he was on Titan, and before he was turned to dust, Dr. Strange searched through possible futures where the Avengers could ultimately defeat Thanos. One involved waiting five years for a rat to let Scott Lang out of the Quantum Realm, and a time heist. It was a mess. But the other solution was more simple: he told Tony Stark to send a message back in time.”

“To tell the Avengers that Thanos was coming?” Miles asked.

“Further back. Natasha Romanoff sent a message back to just before the battle against Ultron in Sokovia. She convinced Agent Fury to send Agent Bishop into battle.”

“She wasn't an agent then,” Peter interrupted, licking the chocolate from his S'more off his fingers.

“Let me tell it,” Shuri complained. “Agent Bishop changed one thing: she saved the life of Pietro Maximoff. Then, after several years had passed, Pietro proved instrumental in the defeat of Thanos. Agent Bishop and Agent Barton killed Thanos and we won.”

“So we all lived those five years over again?”

“But the only one who remembers those years on earth is Agent Romanoff, because she was the one who took the message to Fury and she remembers the loop. But with each passing day, the memories of the first time around are getting more and more vague.”

“You said she was the only one who remembered those years on Earth. What about those of you in the Stone?”

“You are too hard on yourself, Miles. You are, in fact, quite perceptive. Those of us that lived inside that community within the Soul Stone remember that year perfectly.”

“And we didn't create a parallel timeline?”

“No. We created a time loop.”

“But Agent Barnes and the others, they know another me? From another timeline?”

“Yes.”

“And they have an alien cat.”

“A flerken, yes.”

“Who took them to a timeline where they did the whole time heist?”

“Yes. Because they didn't know Agent Bishop. Instead, Agent Barton had a wife and children. The time heist was their only choice.”

Miles nodded sagely. “Okay.”

“Clear?” Shuri asked.

Miles watched as Gwen's marshmallow burned in the bonfire. “Sure. Clear as crystal.”

At the other bonfire, the adults began laughing at something. Agent Barnes had his arm around Darcy's shoulders. She looked up at him with a smile. And something about that made Miles feel like smiling too.

Agent Barnes and his wife were the first Avengers that Miles and Gwen had met, back on that fateful day when they were both bit by a radioactive spider during an Oscorp field trip. They hadn't even known then, that they would develop powers. But when they did, they were already safe in Avengers Tower. It was Darcy that brought their parents to the Tower to explain what was happening to them. The other Avengers helped them deal with what was happening to their bodies.

Quake, aka Daisy Johnson, spent hours with Gwen, telling her about how she got her own powers. And Agent Barnes held Miles's hand when he cried over the crazy way his life had changed. Agent Wilson retrieved them both when they had climbed too high and panicked over how to get down. (That happened more times than Miles cared to admit). And Agent Bishop made sure that they actually got to still be kids and have fun.

Miles couldn't fathom how awful things could have been if he and Gwen hadn't met Darcy and Bucky that day in the little cupcake shop.

* * *

“Do you really think you can get my experiments away from the Avengers?” Norman Osborn questioned the man sitting before him.

“And my daughter too?” Derrick Bishop sat back in his chair with his arms crossed. Clearly disbelieving the man that swore he could solve all of their problems.

“Yes. I believe I can deliver your daughter, your experiments and your Asset,” with this he nodded at a computerized image of a bug-eyed little man.

“And in return?” Norman asked.

“Access to your scientific advances and Mr. Bishop's money.”

“And what do you want from me?” The computerized image asked, in a thickly accented voice.

“Simple. I want HYDRA. I want to be declared the Supreme Leader of HYDRA.”

“Mr. Vermis,” the computerized voice promised, “If you can deliver my Asset, I will give you my absolute endorsement.”

“And how do you plan to accomplish all of this?” Norman asked.

“With hellfire, Mr. Osborn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Work title taken from the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. Chapter title taken from David Bowie.


	2. Teenage Wasteland

  
  


Darcy

“Ugh,” Darcy muttered as she settled back into her towel on the sandy beach. “Make them stop.”

Next to her, a fist appeared in her periphery and Sam Wilson muttered back, “Preach.”

Darcy gave his fist an obligatory bump and then let her arm fall back down onto the sand. “It's hot. And gross. And they have too much damned energy.”

“And they're loud,” Sam complained.

As if on queue Shuri let out a squeal. Darcy glanced up to see her racing away from Peter with a football tucked under her arm.

It was Charlie team's turn to occupy the beach house in California and be the West Coast Avengers for three months. It should have been perfect. It should have been just the team: Bucky, Kate, Daisy, and Sam, plus Darcy since she and Bucky were a package deal. Five friends in what could only be described as a mansion, right on the beach.

Then, Fitz and Simmons decided that they wanted to work out of Tony's labs in the beach house. The icing on the cake was the four teenagers joining them on their Spring Break, along with a very overprotective King of Wakanda. Five was now twelve, and the mansion was completely devoid of any privacy.

“Damned whippersnappers,” a voice teased from behind them.

Darcy turned and snatched the cold beer that Bucky offered. She let her sunglasses slip down her nose as she gave him an annoyed glare. “You think you're funny, but all you're doing is reminding Sam and I that you're older than dirt.”

“I'm wounded,” he replied glibly from his beach chair. “Daisy's back from the store,” he informed Sam.

Sam bolted upright. “Daisy's alone in the house?”

Bucky didn't even get a chance to answer before Sam had darted towards the beach house.

“They're gonna have really loud sex,” Darcy complained as she flopped back onto the beach towel. “I miss really loud sex.”

“You want to scream during sex? I ain't gonna stop you.”

Darcy could almost see Bucky's little smirk at that comment. She could picture his perfect mouth raising that bottle of beer to his lips. Darcy shifted her hips a bit to try and fight off her rising desire.

“We have a houseful of children. And we share a wall with Gwen. And I don't scream,” she reminded him as she flipped onto her stomach so she could face him. She turned just in time to see his little eye roll.

“Mmm-hmm.”

He took a swig of his beer and Darcy let out a sigh. Damn him and his mouth.

“I don't. I don't scream.”

“All right, Mrs. Barnes. You don't scream.” He leaned forward and reminded her in a seductive growl, “You do, however, make a loud high pitched noise when you...”

“Watch out!”

The shout came from Peter, but Darcy didn't react quickly enough. Miles Morales landed next to her, spraying sand all over her towel and her back.

“I caught it!”

“Out of bounds!” Gwen Stacy yelled.

“But I caught it,” Miles protested with just a hint of a whine.

“Too bad. It's fourth down!” Gwen yelled back.

“How are we losing?” Miles mumbled. “There is only one powered person on their team. And they're all girls.”

“Well kid,” Bucky explained, after swallowing another sip of beer, “Their quarterback's code name is Hawkeye, so that should tell you something about her accuracy. Your teammate Parker may be powered, but he's also a klutz. And T'Challa is more worried about an injury to his little sister than he is about playing competitively. So you're...what's the word I'm looking for, Sassy?”

Darcy smiled, “Screwed. Screwed is the word. Sorry Miles.”

He tucked his football under his arm and stalked back to his group.

Darcy crawled forward and stopped just short of climbing into Bucky's lap. “Speaking of being screwed,” she whispered seductively. “There's no one in the hot tub, right now.”

“You mean the hot tub that's directly under Sam and Daisy's bedroom window?”

Darcy scowled and then brightened, “The lab is soundproof.”

“And Fitz and Simmons are working in it, as we speak.”

“The indoor pool?”

Bucky paused, took a sip, and contemplated before nodding, “I'll race you.”

“Hardly fair,” Darcy scoffed.

“Yeah. Yer right.” And with that, he took Darcy's hands in his own, hauled Darcy to her feet and then up over his shoulder into a fireman's carry. She let out a delighted shriek at the sudden loss of the ground beneath her feet. And then a little sigh. His sheer strength always took her breath away.

She looked up to see T'Challa, Kate and the four teenagers glancing their way and Darcy gave them a silly wave.

“T'Challa looks shocked at our behavior, babe,” Darcy giggled. “We're a terrible influence on the children.”

“They're not children. They're teenagers. And we're married for cryin' out loud.”

“Right! If we want to sneak away for some S-E-X than we're entitled.”

Bucky laughed, “I can't believe you spelled out the word.”

“You know what, Bucky Bear? You're right,” then she yelled out, “I'm going inside to have some alone time with my husband. So don't come inside for at least 20 minutes!”

“An hour,” Bucky corrected.

“Make that two hours!” Darcy yelled at the group.

Kate was laughing, bent over with her hands on her knees. Shuri and Gwen were giggling. Peter and Miles were blushing. And even though Darcy expected T'Challa to look completely scandalized, he gave them a double thumbs up. “I'll give you thirty minutes. More than that I cannot promise.”

When they got to the back door of the beach house, Bucky lowered her to her feet, and they tumbled through, giggling.

Bucky stopped immediately and straightened, prompting Darcy to turn and see what caused his demeanor to suddenly change.

Sam and Daisy sat on opposite couches. She was steadfastly refusing to look at him. Her legs were crossed and one foot was tapping the air. Sam sat in a slouch, his arms crossed over his chest. He was scowling at Daisy, not even bothering to look away from her when Bucky greeted, “Hey guys.”

“Guess what, Barnes,” Sam said drolly, still glaring at Daisy, “Daze has a date tonight.”

“It's not a date,” she shot back, finally looking at him and matching his glare with her own. “He's an old friend.”

Darcy looked up at Bucky with wide eyes. He gave her a little nod as if answering her look of 'this is awkward' with a simple 'yep'.

“Really, because Jemma just said you two had 'buckets of sexual tension',” Sam growled at his girlfriend.

“Unresolved!” The aforementioned Jemma yelled from the kitchen, “I distinctly recall using the word unresolved.”

Fitz's voice was nearly inaudible when he said, “I don't think that's helping, dear.”

Daisy's scowl deepened. “I can't believe you don't trust me.”

“I trust you, sweetheart. I don't trust him.”

“Don't call me sweetheart when you're being a jerk, Samuel.”

“You know what?” Darcy announced, just a little too chirpily, “You guys probably want to be alone and so Bucky and I are just...” She still had every intention of dragging Bucky off to the indoor swimming pool.

Sam interrupted Darcy with, “What do you think, Barnes? What would you do if one of Darcy's exes came sniffing around?”

“Kill him with my pinky finger.”

Darcy smacked him softly on the chest and hissed, “We are NOT getting in the middle of a lover's spat.”

The twinkle in his eye as he smirked down at her set Darcy's heart aflutter.

Among other things.

She really, really wanted to get him alone.

Daisy wasn't willing to let them off so easily. “Darcy? Do you or do you not have LOTS of male friends that Bucky trusts you to be around?”

“Well... sure... but...”

“But what, Darce?” Sam pounced.

“Nope.” She grabbed Bucky's hand and dragged him out of the living area into the kitchen, all the while chanting, “Nope. Nope. Nope. Not getting involved in this.” As she entered the kitchen, with Bucky in tow, she found Fitz standing at the counter, slicing up an apple, and Jemma at the table, with her head in her hands.

“What did you _do_?” Darcy scolded her.

“I didn't know Sam was in the house when I said...what I said... about the sexual tension...Oh god...Daisy is going to murder me.”

Bucky offered up, “Yep. As Katie Kate would say, 'you done fucked up'.” He gave Jemma's shoulder a little pat in consolation.

“Still,” Darcy questioned, “It's not like Sam to be all jealous and possessive.”

With a mouthful of apple, Fitz explained, “You'd understand if you saw this guy. Dreamy.”

Bucky gave Fitz a questioning look.

“What?” Fitz said, still crunching on the apple, “I'm secure in my masculinity.”

“Who is this guy?” Bucky asked, grabbing one of Fitz's apple slices and hopping up on the counter.

Darcy gestured towards the door to the lower floor, where the pool was waiting. She even raised her eyebrows and did a little head tilt. Bucky licked a drop of juice off of his hand and winked at her, but didn't budge.

“His name is Robbie. Daisy met him on a mission,” Jemma explained.

“Former SHIELD?” Bucky asked.

Bucky didn't get his answer because Sam and Daisy entered the kitchen, both looking a little less grumpy.

“We've reached a compromise,” Daisy announced.

“Since I can't tell Daisy what to do, what with her being a grown-ass woman, and I can't stop myself from being a little uncomfortable with her having an intimate dinner with an unrequited love...”

“There was no love!” Daisy began to argue.

“We've decided that I am going to dinner too,” Sam continued, ignoring Daisy's interruption.

She finished, “And since three's a crowd, but five is a party, one of you lovely couples is coming with us. So who's it gonna be?”

Bucky finally hopped off the counter and placed his hand on the small of Darcy's back. “The missus and I have plans.”

“What kind of plans?” Sam asked.

A cacophony of teenage voices came cascading through the back door.

“I'm all sweaty!”

“I swear I have sand in my ears.”

“Last one to the pool is a rotten egg!”

“A rotten egg? Really? Who says that?”

The four teens barreled through the kitchen and down the stairs, taking Darcy's plans with them.

“That was not thirty minutes,” Bucky mumbled with a little glare toward Wakanda's king, who had just come in with Kate in tow.

T'Challa only offered a shrug in explanation.

“Our plans just got canceled,” Darcy sighed.

“Great. Then you two will get stuck with...” Fitz stopped and tried again, “You two are the lucky ones who get to go with Sam and Daisy. Jem and I are close to a breakthrough on that thing...”

“What thing?”

“You know, dear.” Fitz leaned in and said meaningfully, “That thing...”

“Oh yes.” Jemma's eyes widened, “The thing. Have fun at dinner.”

Daisy yelled at the back of her best friend as Jemma practically ran away. “We'll be talking later, Simmons!”

“And if you stay, then you have to spider-sit!” Bucky yelled to the retreating form of Fitz.

“Too busy! Kate can spider-sit.”

Under her breath, Darcy muttered jealously, “they're totally gonna have sex in their soundproof lab. I hate them.”

Bucky obviously heard her, as he held back a little chuckle.

“And what are you doing tonight?” Sam asked T'Challa.

“Nakia is in town and we are meeting for dinner. So I will not be your chaperone this evening. Nor will I be 'spider-sitting'.”

Kate grabbed the remaining apple slice and asked, with her mouth full, “You bringing her back here after dinner?”

“We will be staying at a hotel this evening.”

“I hate him too,” Darcy whispered for Bucky's ears only.

Kate dribbled apple juice on to her shirt and was trying to dab it off. She was really only making the spot bigger. Darcy watched in amusement and then formulated a quick plan. She leaned into Daisy and whispered, “How hot is this Robbie guy, really?”

“Quite literally on fire.”

Darcy grinned just a touch. “Hey, Katie. You got plans tonight?”

Kate narrowed her eyes, “Why? What are you up to?”

“Me? I'm the picture of innocence. I just thought... well, I wouldn't want this Robbie guy to feel like a fifth wheel. Why don't you join us?”

Bucky jumped right onto Darcy's plan. “Or you could stay and spider-sit.”

Kate took a second to listen to the screaming and screeching coming from the four teenagers in the pool. “Yeah. I'm in.”

* * *

“Are you certain this will work?” Derrick Bishop asked.

Otto Vermis nodded. “The Avengers, for all of their skills, are often quite predictable. Daisy Johnson has a connection to Robbie Reyes. She will reach out to him again. And when she does, he will lead us right to your daughter.”

“And you're sure he will be able to incapacitate the Avengers?”

“He can.”

“Why would he?” Norman Osborn asked impatiently, “If Daisy Johnson is his friend...”

“Mr. Reyes doesn't exactly have control of his powers. If anything, his powers control him. Given the right stimuli, he won't be able to stop himself. And we shall give him that stimuli. Once his powers are activated... Well, let's just say that he will feed off the Avengers less than innocent souls.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Work title taken from the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. Chapter title taken from the lyrics to Baba O'Riley by the Who


	3. Darling, You Look Wonderful Tonight

Bucky

Darcy's hand snaked around Bucky's waist and let her fingertips play with the wiry hairs that ran down from his belly button. Bucky's body started responding to her the second she climbed into the shower with him. Her touches only made the fire in his belly burn hotter. He felt kisses being placed along his shoulders and she even gave a little nibble to the skin on his right shoulder.

He closed his eyes against the water that was raining down on his face from the showerhead and warned, “You're playing with fire, Darlin.”

“Wanna play with my husband,” she teased back.

He turned into her arms. His right hand went to her cheek and he caressed it with his thumb. He loved it when she looked like this. Fresh-faced and open. Looking up at him with both love and desire. It was a look that he alone got to see and it always caused a surge of emotion in him.

He swore that in times like this he could almost see their souls entwined, the way that Strange and Gamora said that they were.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“Love you too.”

Darcy rose on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his jaw.

“You think you can be quiet, Sassy?” he teased, wrapping his hands around the warm flesh at her waist.

“I think I can be quieter than the shower.”

“Doubt it,” he countered, sliding his hands back and down to cup her bottom. She rose even higher on her toes, using his body to balance herself. Just as their lips were about to touch, someone started banging on their bedroom door. With his enhanced hearing, he could hear the latch turn even with the sound of the shower and the bathroom door between them.

“Dumb Ass? You in there? I'm looking for your wife.”

“Damn it, Bishop,” Bucky growled.

Behind the door, Kate continued, “Her assistant is on the phone and he's freaking out about something Tony said to the media.”

He instinctively reached for Darcy as she backed away. His skin was suddenly cool and he let out a small sound of protest. The little smirk Darcy gave him at the sound almost made him smile. Almost.

“I'm in the shower, Kate. Let me grab a robe,” Darcy called out. She had the audacity to give Bucky a little wink as she wrapped the robe around herself and left him alone.

  
  


Bucky was almost completely ready for dinner. He sat down on the bed to put on his shoes. Just behind him, he heard a soft sigh. He glanced over at the lounging figure on his bed. “Darcy's gonna kill you, you know.”

She responded with a lazy stretch that started with a yawn and went all the way to her toes.

There was a soft knock on the door, followed by, “You decent, Dumbass?”

“Yep. Come on in Katie-Kate.”

“What are you wearing?” Kate assessed as she came into the room and flopped down on her back in the middle of the bed like she owned it. The alien girl was now lying next to Kate, and she stretched again.

Bucky did a quick assessment of his outfit. Khakis. A blue button-down shirt. Not his usual attire, but not crazy, right? Kate meanwhile was still in cutoff jeans, purple flip flops, and a Colorado Rockies baseball jersey.

“Be honest with me, Bucky Bear: Is this a date?”

He couldn't resist teasing her. “I'm married, Dollface.”

She gave him a narrow-eyed glare. “Don't be a dumb ass. I don't know if I'm ready for a set up after the whole Pietro disaster.”

“Disaster seems like a harsh assessment.”

“Trust me, it was a disaster. It was weird because of the whole Clint is our de facto dad thing. Then the whole time apart thing. He's out here for three months and then I'm out here for three months. And I brought up the whole idea of him transferring to our team and he freaked out about leaving Wanda 'alone'. Her boyfriend is on the team but she's 'alone' without him.”

“I don't think you and I can really understand the twin bond, Kate.”

“Bucko, I don't even understand the sibling bond thing. My sister and I hate each other. She's all 'dad is just misunderstood' and I'm like, 'dad is a freaking crime lord but whatever, as long as you get your Prada bags and Louboutin shoes.' Which, by the way, are really uncomfortable.”

“I ever tell you that you remind me of my sister?”

“I do? That's so sweet. Wait, is it sweet? Did you like your sister?”

“Yeah. Becca was lovely.”

“Hunh. So per the transitive property; I'm lovely.” Kate smiled widely.

Darcy was on the phone when she came back into the room. She was also still in her robe. Kate popped up off the bed and as she passed Darcy, she said, “Did you hear that Darcy? I'm lovely.”

Darcy gave Kate a little wave as she left the room and shut the door behind her. Darcy hadn't stopped talking on the phone. “This is why you don't talk to the press, Tony....yeah, well, Mackenzie is your team's spokesperson for a reason. Because you have no filter on that mouth of yours, that's why.”

She took one look at Bucky sitting at the foot of the bed and mouthed 'sorry babe'. She then went back to her phone call. “Because I said so, Tony. Isn't that reason enough?.... Yes, I know that you have a particular disdain for arms dealers...Listen. You made me head of PR for a reason. Because you trust my judgment. Right?... Yes, and Pepper made you...So in the future, you don't talk to the media. Got it?.... All right then. We all love you and miss you, you pain in the ass...It's your mansion, Tony. If you want to come to visit, then come visit...Yeah yeah. Bye, butthead.”

“Let me guess, Stark committed a PR blunder?”

“Apparently Justin Hammer is compensating for a small penis. Tony said that. On camera.”

“Maybe it was a bad idea, putting those four together. Clint, Tony, Scott, and YoYo? Talk about a lack of tact.”

“Which is why Mack, while not officially on the team, is the team spokesman. You guys divided yourselves up into teams. I wouldn't have....” Darcy stopped when she saw the pretty alien girl sprawled all over the white blouse she had laid out.

“Hope you weren't planning on wearing that,” Bucky mused with a grin.

“Gretel, you got cat hair all over my shirt.”

Their flerken did a little roll back and forth across the white fabric, complete with a blink of complete innocence.

“I leave you alone for two minutes and you have two different girls in our bed. We should have gotten a dog,” Darcy said as she went into the chest of drawers to find something else to wear.

“I don't know Darce, I kind of like knowing that our cat can eat the bad guys.”

“It's a bit extreme, punishment wise, don't you think?”

Bucky thought about the woman who had shot Darcy twice and shoved her into a portal into another dimension. He then remembered the intense satisfaction (and shock) that he felt when Gretel opened her jaws and encased the woman in tentacles and pulled her into a pocket dimension to rot for eternity. “Nope. Not too extreme.”

“Leave it to you to go to the shelter for a dog and come back with an alien.” Darcy took off her robe and dropped it onto the bed. Gretel promptly abandoned the blouse for the terry cloth robe.

Darcy was facing away from him and his eyes were drawn to the two little dimples just above her buttocks. Without putting much thought into it, he fell to his knees, wrapped one arm around her thighs and dipped his tongue into one of those perfect little divots. She responded with a laughing squeal. “What are you doing?”

“I have no idea,” he responded, tasting the other dimple. “It's not like we have any time.”

“We don't,” she responded with a sigh.

Bucky slid one hand between her thighs and started to trace his fingertips up.

“Babe,” she warned softly.

“I know, no time.” his index finger teased open her slick folds and she let out another sigh.

“Maybe we have a little time,” she whimpered.

A banging on the door made them both jump. “Barnes, change of plans. Daisy's ex is coming here. He'll be here in five.”

“He's not my ex! Jesus, Sam.” Daisy protested on the other side of the door.

Bucky sighed and nestled his forehead into the small of Darcy's back. “I hate our friends,” he grumbled.

Darcy laughed, brightly and freely. “You gonna let me go so I can get dressed?”

“No. No, I'm not.”

Despite this declaration, he did let her go and stood to start undressing himself. “Since we're not going anywhere fancy, I'm changing out of this ridiculous getup.”

This earned him a snort from Darcy. “A button-down shirt and khakis hardly constitutes a ridiculous get up.”

“I look like Steve,” Bucky muttered.

“You really don't,” she laughed, pulling on a pair of underwear and a matching bra. Then she cocked her head to the side and assessed. “Actually, you kind of do.”

“I. Do. Not.” With this, he pulled on a pair of jeans.

“Hear me out. Remember how Steve looked when you guys killed Thanos? With the beard and the longer hair? You've kind of got that vibe going, babe.”

“I need to shave,” Bucky snorted.

“I like the beard,” Darcy admitted, hopping into her jeans. “But your hair has gotten a little long.”

He ran his hand through his hair, it had started getting to the point where it was falling into his eyes. Darcy walked up to him, clad in a bra and jeans, and darned if that didn't get his engine revving. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and with one hand she played with the shorter hair at the nape of his neck. “I can cut it for you tomorrow if you want.”

At least, that's what Bucky thought she said because honestly, all he could think about was getting that bra off of her so they could be skin to skin. His hands unconsciously reached for the clasp. She promptly batted them away. “Stop that. We have to get dressed.”

“You started it.”

“I did no such thing,” she asserted as she yanked a tee-shirt over her head and then tossed one of Bucky's at him to put on.

“You did. On the beach. In the shower. That was all you, Sassy.”

“Hmm. I guess I did. Must be because I love you or something.”

“Must be,” he smiled.

“Stop looking at me with the smolder. We have to go downstairs. Company. Remember?”

“M'not sure how I feel about a civilian coming here,” Bucky admitted.

“He's a friend of Daisy's. It'll be fine.”

* * *

  
  


“As you can see,” Otto Vermis explained. “We have twelve helicopters ready. After the target enters the facility, we will launch. We will meet back here and divide up the captives accordingly.”

“No,” Derrick Bishop shook his head. “I want my daughter delivered directly to me.”

“For the sake of efficiency...”

“I don't give a damn about efficiency. This is my daughter we're talking about. No offense but I want her out of HYDRA's hands as soon as possible.”

“No offense taken. But rest assured, we in HYDRA have no interest in your daughter.”

“What of the others?” Derrick asked. “My daughter's teammates and colleagues?”

“The princess is of extreme interest and the doctors may be of value to HYDRA. Mr. Wilson and Mrs. Barnes are useless and quite expendable.”

“My spiders?” Norman Osborn inquired, “Do I have to worry about you stealing them out from under me?”

“Your spiders are intriguing, Mr. Osborn. But your cooperation is more valuable. As far as HYDRA is concerned, the most important target is the Asset. We also have some interest in Daisy Johnson and T'Challa.”

“And Mr. Reyes?” Osborn asked.

“It's doubtful he will survive the night.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Work title taken from Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. Chapter title taken from Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton


	4. The Voice of Rage and Ruin

  
Kate  


Kate groaned as she regained consciousness. Her head was throbbing. She was pretty sure she was going to vomit. And she was pretty sure that when she did, she was going to vomit all over herself because her right hand was handcuffed to a chair.

Next to her, a familiar voice let out a low groan.

“Robbie?”

“Five more minutes,” he responded, his eyes still closed.

He looked broken and bloody. He was bound more tightly than she was. She repeated his name, “Robbie!”

His eyes fluttered open briefly and then they rolled back into his head as he drifted back into unconsciousness.

“He won't answer you.” The crisp snap of dress shoes on concrete came from behind Kate. “We're keeping him heavily sedated. After all, he's dangerous.”

“Derrick,” Kate spit out the name of the man that was now standing before her.

“Would it be so difficult for you to call me 'Dad?', Katherine?”

“Would it be so difficult for you to kindly fuck off, Dad? And get me an ice pack. My head hurts.”

In the chair next to her, Robbie began to stir. “Wh'happnd?”

Derrick Bishop calmly injected something into Robbie's bicep and he went slack again.

“He asked you a question,” Kate sassed. “What happened?”

“You may be concussed, Katherine. Don't you remember?”

Kate closed her eyes. The evening came back to her in bits and pieces.

  


12 hours earlier

“And you're sure May and Coulson are okay with this?” Sam asked for the third time.

Daisy rolled her eyes in annoyance. “We're old friends. Besides, if Robbie was coming here to kill us all, he wouldn't be bringing his little brother.”

“But if he was coming over here to remind you how sensitive and sweet he was, he would.”

“He's a nice guy. And my friend. Nothing more. Okay? Stop pretending to be insecure.”

Kate watched the back and forth between them like a tennis match. She was sitting on the kitchen bar stool, letting her flip flop fall away from her foot and then letting it slap back up. In her mind, she thought 'flip' as it left her foot and 'flop' when it hit her sole.

“Maybe I am insecure, Daze.”

Flip.

“Possessive and crazy, maybe. But not insecure.”

Flop.

“I just can't believe you've never mentioned this guy.”

Flip

“I've never mentioned a lot of people.”

Flop

“That's reassuring.”

Flip

“Possessive and crazy, Sam.”

Flop

“Jesus, Katie-Kate, would you stop?” Sam through his hands up in the air.

“Sorry. I'm nervous.”

Sam immediately softened. “What're you nervous about, kid?”

“Well despite the fact that you seem to think this guy is all about Daisy, I still feel like I'm going into a blind date here.”

“Don't be ridiculous, kid. You're not...” Sam was interrupted by a cough from Daisy. “Wait, you set up _Kate_ with this guy?”

“It was Darcy's idea,” Daisy protested.

“And does poor Robbie know he's been set up?” Sam asked.

“Now he's 'poor Robbie'?”

“Gee thanks, Sam,” Kate muttered. “Way to make me feel like a consolation prize.”

“Aw, baby girl, you know I didn't mean it that way. You know we think you're pretty much perfect. But you do come with a cadre of superhero types that are a_ little_ overprotective of you. And most of them are in this house right now. So...”

Kate pictured Bucky squeezing Robbie's hand way too hard, stopping just short of breaking it. And Sam glaring at him whenever he got too close to Kate, widening his eyes in a way that was intimidating bordering on psychotic. She got the mental image of the Princess and her three little spiders interrogating him, questions firing out like bullets from a shotgun. She had to agree. “Poor Robbie. Good thing Clint and Nat aren't here too.”

“For the record, he knows full well that Darcy is playing matchmaker,” Daisy admitted. “He even asked what kind of flowers you like.”

“He's bringing me flowers?” Kate took a quick look down at her outfit and declared, “I'm gonna change real quick. And maybe put on a little makeup. Just a little though.” After all, she didn't want to look like she tried too hard to impress. She wasn't that kind of girl.

As Kate ascended the stairs, she heard Sam ask, “Is this Robbie guy good enough for our Kate?”

“You're not jealous anymore?”

“No. I've moved into overprotective big brother mode. That cool?”

“Thank god.”

* * *

Kate watched from the window, with Darcy and Jemma on each side of her, as Daisy and Fitz greeted Robbie in the driveway. Kate leaned over to Darcy. “I think my ovaries exploded.”

“From how hot he is?” Darcy asked. And he was. He was taller than Sam and lean. And even from the window, Kate admired his big expressive brown eyes.

“From that gorgeous car?” Jemma chimed. The car was fantastic. A jet black Dodge Charger from the late 1960s. Very nice.

“From the sweet way that he put his brother in the wheelchair?” Darcy added.

And he lifted the teenage boy so effortlessly, Kate noted.

“Or maybe it's the bouquet of irises,” Jemma teased. “They're your favorite, right?”

Kate smiled and nodded, “All that. But mostly the fact that he has great taste in shoes.”

Kate watched as Darcy and Jemma analyzed his footwear, and then looked at Kate.

“There's nothing like a man in Converse.”

“You're quite easy to please,” Jemma laughed.

Darcy slung an arm over her shoulder, “Who loves ya Katie-Kate?”

“You do, Darce. You do.”

Jemma cocked her head to the side and appraised some more, “There is something about a bad boy with a heart of gold, isn't there?”

“Don't I know it,” Darcy admitted.

* * *

“You really have a Skittles arrow?” Robbie twirled it around in his hand. She wasn't sure how the subject got onto Kate's gear. She was even less sure how they ended up in Kate's room. But she was sure that Darcy had something to do with it.

So there they were, sitting on the floor next to Kate's bed, going through her arrows.

Robbie leaned a little into Kate when he asked, “What do you do with a Skittles arrow, exactly?”

“You eat the Skittles. Duh.” She popped one into her mouth and explained, “Sometimes, I'm in a sniper's nest for a long ass time. Low blood sugar hits...and something bad might happen.”

“Yeah. But...why in an arrow?”

“I'm Hawkeye. Trick errors are part of the gig. Respect the gear, Robbie.” She took the arrow and playfully bopped him on the nose.

“Respect the gear, taste the rainbow. Got it.”

“So what's your story?” Kate asked. “Daisy says you have powers.”

“It's not so much a power as a curse.”

“Wow. That's ultra-cryptic. You sound like Bruce.”He looked puzzled so Kate explained, “Bruce Banner. He used to talk about the Hulk-like that.”

“My situation isn't that different.”

Before Robbie could explain, FRIDAY interrupted, “Attention: Perimeter breach. There are multiple aircraft approaching.”

* * *

Organized chaos. That's how Kate would usually describe an Assemble order.

This was just...chaos. Bombs started going off but there was no one on the ground to fight. It was just a blitz. Kate managed to get to the roof, while Robbie ran downstairs to his brother.

She had no idea where the hell Daisy and Sam were. She expected them to be engaging as well, but there was no sign of them. Then again, those helicopters were staying annoyingly high up. Daisy could probably quake them down, but not without further damaging the structural integrity of the house.

One helicopter drifted a little lower than the others and Kate took it out with one shot. But she didn't get to celebrate. A bomb hit a weak spot in the forcefields and she stumbled.

A familiar hand grabbed her arm and steadied her. “Easy, Katie-Kate.”

“You suck with a bow, Dumbass, and that ICER doesn't have much range. You sure you want to be up here?”

Bucky shook his head. “Came to get you. We're bugging out.”

“We're running?” Kate hated the thought. They were Avengers for crying out loud. She almost yelled that when Bucky nodded up towards the copters with a haunted look.

“It's HYDRA.”

“How do you...?”

Bucky led her back towards the stairs leading from the rooftop sun deck into the house. “I just know. They're in draw out and capture mode.”

“Capture...” Kate felt bile rising in her throat at the implication, “Capture you?”

“Or the Princess,” Bucky didn't stop the descent down the stairs. “And I ain't gonna let anything happen to Shuri.”

“I don't like running,” she muttered. She wasn't really arguing, but she felt like it had to be said.

“Daisy's orders, Kate. Pick up the pace.”

“But...”

“No one wants to fight HYDRA more than I do, Bishop. But we have too many noncombatants. Sam and Fitzsimmons are in the process of destroying all the tech. But with that much firepower, they're probably after living assets.”

“Living assets. Jesus. They're such assholes.”

“You're telling me, Katie-Kate.”

* * *

Kate had seen pretty much everything. Purple Titans. Spacedogs. Talking Raccoons and Trees. But when Bucky led her into the living area she was greeted by something she'd never seen before: Robbie's head was on fire. Literally. On fire.

“What the...?” Kate began.

Darcy tucked herself into Bucky's side and explained to Kate. “A bomb landed near where the kids were and he freaked out and transformed. And we can't get past him to get to the tunnel.”

Daisy was trying to calm Robbie down. Kate couldn't hear the words Daisy was saying over the dropping bombs but Daisy's body language was clear.

“The kids?” Bucky asked.

“Long gone,” Darcy said, “Peter led them into the tunnels as soon as we told them to. Daisy tried to tell him that his brother was fine, but...”

“He said he can't control his powers,” Kate told Darcy and Bucky. “He's like Bruce was.”

“We need to get into those tunnels,” Bucky growled, “HYDRA is going to breach soon.” His hand was twitching around his ICER.

“You can't shoot him,” Kate protested.

“It's an ICER, Katie. He'll recover.” Bucky raised the ICER and Robbie's gaze shifted towards him.

The sound of the bombs was dwarfed by Daisy's scream, “Bucky, no! Get out of here!”

Robbie's gaze burned in his eye sockets as he stared down Bucky.

When Kate first saw the footage of Bucky being tortured and wiped by HYDRA she thought that his screams were the worst thing she had ever heard.

The scream that came out of Bucky's mouth when Robbie stared him down sounded like it came from the very depths of Bucky's soul. The pain that he was in was heart-rending, soul-searing anguish. Kate's previous objection to shooting Robbie evaporated at the sound of her friend in pain.

In the periphery of her consciousness, Kate could hear Darcy screaming for Robbie to stop, to leave Bucky alone. She could hear Kate and Sam demanding the same thing. But Kate was focused on creating the perfect shot. The tranquilizer arrow weighed two grams more than her regular arrows. That would affect trajectory and speed. The best chance of a direct shot was just behind Robbie's right side. She'd need to move around the sofa and avoid stepping on the broken glass. She just needed a distraction so she could raise her arrow without Robbie switching his gaze to her. She didn't know what the hell Robbie was doing to Bucky, but it was horrific and she really didn't want it to happen to her.

The distraction Kate needed came in the form of a tortoiseshell cat.

Gretel was on Robbie's left side, out of reach of the flames. She let out a screaming yowl and Robbie turned slightly. He released Bucky from his gaze, but caught Daisy and Sam. Kate raised her bow, drew back and fired.

Robbie turned toward her and locked Kate in his gaze. She felt his mind searching hers. But whatever it was he was looking for, he didn't find it before the tranquilizer dart started to take effect. He was swaying, but still conscious.

Before she raised her bow again, she looked at her team. Sam and Daisy were both down on their knees. Both looked shocked and dazed.

“Sam, Daisy, get up and get out of here!” She yelled.

Bucky was unconscious. And Darcy...

“Shit,” Kate muttered just as Darcy charged towards Robbie. “Darcy! Stop!”

“What did you do to my husband?”

Kate wanted to get another shot off and get enough tranquilizers into Robbie that his powers would turn off. But Darcy was in the way. Kate leaped over a coffee table, grabbed Gretel, and shoved her into Darcy's arms. She dragged Darcy over to Bucky's unconscious body, pushed Darcy to her knees and made sure that they were touching before she demanded, “Gretel, get them somewhere safe!”

She didn't turn around to see if the little flerken had followed her orders. She trusted that she had.

Kate raised her bow at Robbie again. His face was back. He was no longer a flaming skull. But his eyes were still blazing orange.

“Kate,” Robbie warned, “Don't look into my eyes.”

“Why not?” Kate asked, locked in his gaze even as she answered.

“Penance stare,” he breathlessly explained. “The Rider wants to punish the guilty. He'll make you relive the deaths of every innocent that you've killed.”

“What a shitty power,” she sassed. And she let the arrow fly.

Something hit her from behind. But she didn't need to see the arrow land to know that it flew true and hit its target.

  


12 hours later

“Where are the others?” Kate asked her father.

“Do you really think I'm going to answer that, Katherine? The more you know, the more likely you will be to attempt an escape.”

Her father didn't know who he was dealing with. She'd been trained in interrogation by the Black Widow. She needed to know if there was anyone available to assist her in an escape.

Kate bit her lip, hard enough to make her eyes water. Now, corners of lips down. Inner eyebrows up. Deep breathes.

“Sam? Is he okay?” She added a hitch to her breathing. “Please?”

Her father actually looked sorrowful when he answered, “I'm sorry Katherine. I didn't know you two were...”

“You had my boyfriend killed?” She added a whine to her voice, with just a touch of hysteria.

“No. No. He just wasn't on the capture list. HYDRA had no use for him.”

That meant that Sam wasn't captured. Which meant he wasn't here. Time to dig deeper. “Who else did you not have use for? Which of my other friends did you have HYDRA murder?”

“Now listen here, young lady. HYDRA came to me. And if they hadn't, you'd have been on the expendable list too. You don't have powers. And you're not a genius.”

Kate cast her eyes down to keep from smiling. Natasha would have been proud. “So I get to live because I'm your daughter. And my friends become experiments because they have powers. Jesus, dad, you gave children to HYDRA.”

“I didn't....”

“Miles is fifteen years old, Dad!”

“Osborn isn't HYDRA,” he argued.

So, that meant that Peter, Miles, and Gwen were with someone named Osborn, if they hadn't escaped completely. T'Challa wasn't at the house, so he wasn't here either. Bucky and Darcy were long gone. That meant that the only others who could be here were Daisy, Shuri, Fitz, and Simmons.

Her father sighed, “It was a means to an end, Katherine. You won't return my calls...you pretend I don't exist.”

“Because you're a criminal! And I'm an Avenger!” The tears were real now. But they weren't sorrow. They were tears of anger.

“I just... I need you. And I was desperate. I'm sorry Katherine.”

“Kidnapping my friends is not a really good way to bond.”

“I didn't,” he protested. With a gesture toward Robbie, he said, “I didn't intend for this to happen.”

“That's what happens when you get in bed with HYDRA.” This time she turned her head away so she wouldn't smirk. He gave her everything. Now she knew, Robbie was the only one besides her that was here.

“I'm going to give you some time to cool off, Katherine.”

“You do that!” She snapped as he slammed the door.

The slamming door jerked Robbie awake.

His eyes were heavy, but he was awake enough to comment. “You shot me.”

“That I did.” Kate reached up with her free hand and pulled a bobby pin out of her hair.

“Then you shot me again.” Robbie drawled, still quite sedated.

“I did that too.” She fiddled with the bobby pin until it was bent just the right way.

“Thanks,” he gave her a sleepy smile.

“Yer welcome.” With a little fiddle of the handcuffs, she was free.

“Where are we?”

“No idea. But it's just you and me. So we're gonna have to escape together. Try not to kill me.”

He blinked a few times as if he was clearing his head. “You ever kill anyone?”

“Yep.”

“Someone innocent?”

“Hardly.”

“Then you have nothing to fear from the Rider.”

“The Rider?”

“The Ghost Rider. The demon that lives in me.”

“Okay, we seriously had waaaay more important shit to talk about than my Skittles arrow.”

“I thought Daisy told you.”

“Daisy didn't tell me shit. And she's gonna hear about it when we find her. But first? Into the ventilation shaft, demon boy.”

* * *

“I am very angry with you, Otto,” the computerized image scolded.

“Master Zola, no one is more disappointed than I am that I could not deliver your Asset.”

“Mr. Bishop got his daughter. Osborn got his spiders. And I get nothing?”

“I am not empty-handed, Master Zola. We are still hunting your Asset. But for now, I will give you this offering instead. Drs. Fitz and Simmons. Two of the brightest minds in the galaxy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title taken from Bad Moon Rising by CCR.


	5. Smoke, Lightning, and Heavy Metal Thunder

  
  


Peter

“I swear to God if you tell us to abandon you one more time, I'm webbing your mouth shut!” Gwen threatened.

Gabe countered with, “Be honest, I'm slowing you down.”

“Well, heck!” Miles teased, “We should totally abandon the civilian... wait... no... we're the good guys and we don't do that sort of thing.”

And frankly, Gabe wasn't slowing them down at all. He was rolling his wheels himself and was ahead of both Miles and Gwen.

In fact, he was ahead of Peter and Shuri, who was trying to talk to her brother while navigating the dark tunnel. She'd already stumbled three times and if Peter hadn't caught her, she would have fallen.

“Yes, brother,” Shuri spoke into her communicator, “We're in the tunnel system.”

She took a wrong step on some rocks and stumbled a tiny bit, her grip tightened on Peter's arm. He smiled even wider. Sure, the mansion was under attack, and Charlie team hadn't followed them into the tunnels yet. But he had the most amazing girl in the world holding onto his arm. It was a bit of a rush.

“Well we wanted to stay and fight,” Shuri continued, undaunted by her near fall, “But James wouldn't let us. He was rather unreasonable.”

Whatever T'Challa said in response had Shuri rolling her eyes. “I'm sure we could have been a tremendous help, Brother. But you know how overprotective James can be. He's worse than you.”

“Tell him we're halfway to the exit. The team needs him more than we do,” Peter offered.

“He heard you,” Shuri said, with her hand over the phone, “but I don't think he's listening.”

T'Challa's voice became urgent on the phone.

“What?” Shuri's exclamation came at the same time as several loud explosions. The ground shook under Peter's feet. A piece of concrete fell in front of his face and he yelled to his companions. “Webs! Web up the ceiling before it collapses!”

Shuri teased him once, for having his web-shooters with him all the time. Right now, she was probably pretty glad he did. That was the only thought he allowed himself before his thoughts became consumed with supporting the cracks in the concrete. Protecting Shuri and Gabe, who were huddled together. The part of the tunnel he was in was soon under a canopy of protective webs. Miles and Gwen had accomplished the same.

There were about fifteen feet of unwebbed concrete between them. Then there were two more loud explosions. Peter felt their force in his chest. And even as he reacted to stop it, fifteen feet worth of concrete and earth came pouring down, separating him from Miles and Gwen.

“Peter?” he heard Gwen's voice faintly.

“Gwennie? Are you two okay?” he yelled back. “Turn your communicator on.”

Her voice came in through the communicator in his ear. “We're okay. We're gonna start moving the rocks.”

* * *

  
  


Jemma

“Daisy? Downloads are complete and all Avengers proprietary tech has been destroyed.”

Jemma awaited a response and instructions.

An explosion rocked the mansion, making Jemma have to steady herself on a workbench. Her anxiety ratcheted up. “Fitz? She's not answering”

Friday called out, “The facility has been breached.”

Fitz called out to the AI, “Visual?”

A hologram of their friends was displayed out of thin air. Four bodies lay on the floor. Jemma hoped against hope that they were simply unconscious and not... she couldn't even finish the thought. She watched in horror as masked troops pulled Kate and Robbie out of the room.

“We have to do something,” she insisted.

“Daisy would tell us to get to safety,” Fitz told her. At the same time, he grabbed the two inter-dimensional portal devices that he had been upgrading. He started entering coordinates.

“But we're not, are we?”

“No. We are not. We're going to try and rescue our friends.”

Jemma gave her husband a proud smile. Then she quickly checked on the others. “Friday? Status update on all the residents of the mansion, please.”

“Mr. Parker, Ms. Stacy, and Mr. Morales have just entered the tunnel system with Gabe Reyes. Agent Barnes and Mrs. Lewis-Barnes are no longer on the premises. Agent Bishop and Mr. Reyes are being loaded into a helicopter on the grounds by hostile forces. Agents Wilson and Johnson are in the main living area.”

“Ready dear?” Fitz asked, handing Jemma one of the devices and an ICER. He kept the other device and an ICER of his own.

They began the ascent from the labs up to the main living area. The whole time, they whispered to each other.

“Where are we sending them?” she asked.

“Earth-65.”

“To Spider-Gwen?” Last year, the Avengers were assisted by a version of Gwen Stacy from a different earth. She had been Spider-woman for a while and was completely in control of her powers, unlike their Gwen, who was just learning to manage them.

“That's the hope.”

“And then?”

“And then, we go undercover to rescue Kate.”

“Fitz? Are you suggesting that we allow ourselves to be captured?”

“I'm sorry, Jem. Was that not clear?”

“You do realize that Daisy will be furious with us.”

“She'll be in another dimension. It'll be fine.”

* * *

  
  


Peter

“You two go ahead,” Peter instructed. “I'm going to stay and help clear these rocks.”

Shuri rolled her eyes. “I am not leaving you, Peter.”

Gabe added, “I think I'll be safer with the superpowered guy. So...”

“I think they may actually be after the superpowered guys from the way Agent Barnes was acting,” Peter remarked while picking up a boulder and moving it to the side of the tunnel. When the perimeter alert was announced, Peter ran upstairs to get instructions from the team. Barnes demanded that he get the others out safely. Don't look back, he had said. Just as Peter had gotten their small group to the tunnel, a bomb caused the walls of the game room to collapse. It had been a very close call. He sent a message over the communicator that they were all unharmed, but it had been radio silence from the team. Their only communication with the world up above was with T'Challa, and he had just arrived and was as in the dark as they were.

“You don't think....?” Shuri began.

Peter nodded. “HYDRA.”

Shuri began to fidget, her normal composure started slipping away. Peter took a second to make eye contact and soothe, “I'm sure Barnes got out. If it was HYDRA, the others would make sure he got out. Don't worry, okay?”

She blinked a few times and Peter half-expected a glib reply. But what he got was a quiet, “Yes. I'm sure you're right.”

As Peter picked up another boulder, Gabe quietly asked, “I thought HYDRA was gone.”

“HYDRA is never really gone,” Shuri replied.

“Peter?” Gwen's voice came over the communicator as a whisper. “They're coming.”

“Down the tunnel?”

“They're above us. Miles can hear them. They're going to try and breakthrough. We're going back the way we came in. You need to get out. Run.”

“Gwen...” Peter started.

“They want Shuri. They're talking about her. Get her out, Peter, please.”

There was nothing in the world Peter Parker hated more than running away from a fight. And there was pretty much only one person he would run for. Shuri looked at him and tilted her head slightly to the side. “Peter? What is it?”

“We have to run. Now.”

* * *

  
  


The Soldier

When he woke he wasn't cold. Except for the wet rag that had been placed on the back of his neck. That was cold.

And odd.

But the dizziness was familiar.

He quickly assessed his surroundings. He was in a residence. Unoccupied. Except for the woman. And the feline.

He was silent as he sat so the woman did not notice he was conscious. The feline did.

The electrical outlets were North American. There were cicadas making noise outside. No cars were driving nearby. Rural. Midwest United States.

The woman did not appear to be a threat. She had her back to him. She was searching through the cabinets in the kitchen. An operative wouldn't turn their back to him. A target would be incapacitated. Perhaps she was his handler?

Her behavior was strange. She was talking to the contents of the kitchen cabinets.

“Let's see...canned soups, Lipton noodles, canned tuna. That's good. At least you won't starve, fuzzball.”

Ah. She was speaking to the feline.

“Aspirin, Tylenol, bandages... first aid kit. Cool. I don't know whose safe house this is, but it's decently stocked. Oh wow. Cat food, dog food, and litter? In a safe house?” She continued to rummage. “It's even your brand, girl. And Lucky's brand. And there's vodka. Mystery solved. It's one of Natasha's.”

She finally turned to look at him. A smile spread across her face. She was...beautiful. He didn't know why he thought about that. It was certainly unnecessary information. But she was.

“Thank God! I was beginning to think you'd never wake up. Are you okay?”

He did a quick self-assessment. The dizziness had resolved. There were no visible wounds. All of his senses seemed to be intact.

He gave a curt nod.

That should have been enough, but the woman was approaching. Why was she approaching? A wave of panic hit him, which he immediately shut down. As far as he knew he had done nothing worthy of punishment. Except... “I need to check the perimeter.”

He should have done that immediately upon regaining consciousness. She would be within her rights to punish him. But if he was quick and efficient in his task, perhaps she may choose to forgo punishment.

He heard her softly give an affirmative, “okay” to his task.

His perimeter check reaffirmed his assessment. Missouri. The Ozarks, based on the flora and fauna. The cabin had a windmill and solar panels. There was a freshwater well on the site as well. No visible threats. He had no reason not to return to the cabin. But he lingered.

It was the sunset. The sky glowed orange and pink. It was soothing somehow.

“Hey,” the woman said as she exited the cabin. He turned to look at her. She was bathed in the glow of the sunset. She looked so very beautiful. And familiar.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

He cast his eyes downward as he answered, “the perimeter is secure.” He had no right to stand there and gape at her. If she did punish him, it would be deserved now.

“Babe?” she reached out and touched his arm and he jumped back involuntarily.

“I'm sorry,” he muttered despite himself, keeping his eyes down.

“What are you sorry for?”

He tried not to let his face betray his fear. He had been punished for that before. But this was so strange. She was strange.

Then again, she seemed kind. Maybe he had nothing to fear from her. Maybe he should just try to please her because she was so lovely.

He brought his eyes up to hers. Her lovely blue eyes narrowed and she cocked her head slightly to the side. “Do you know who I am?” she asked.

He could feel his brow furrowing as he thought hard.

She didn't wait for his answer. “What's your name?” she asked.

Her voice quivered. She was sad. Or frightened. Or both.

He met her eyes and gave his head an almost imperceptible shake.

“You don't know your name, do you? Or mine?”

The soldier admitted softly. “No.”

A tear escaped her eye and ran down the side of her face. It dripped off her chin and fell onto the toe of her shoe. He watched it fall the whole way down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title taken from Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf


	6. Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

Darcy  


“Okay,” Darcy muttered to herself. “I'm not going to lose it. Everything is going to be fine.”

She had to hold it together because he needed her to. She had lost it when Robbie was doing whatever he did to Bucky. She wouldn't do that again. She'd be calm. And steady. For him.

Bucky stood in front of her looking frightened and lost. She'd seen footage of him in Winter Soldier mode and this wasn't it. He had no focused intensity. He had no mission to complete. He didn't know what to do with himself. That was crystal clear by the way he stared down at the ground, refusing to make eye contact.

She reached for his hand and he pulled it back as if he'd touched something hot. “Hey, it's okay,” she assured him. “I'm not going to hurt you.”

He took a breath and looked up at her. “What are my orders?”

Darcy had no idea what to say to that. But she was pretty sure that shaking him and screaming that she was his wife and not some kind of handler would be less than helpful.

“I'm... I don't have orders for you.”

He looked distressed. Jumpy. That was obviously not a good answer. So she tried again, “I'm...under your protection.”

And there it was; the soldier snapped into place. “We should move indoors.”

* * *

He was on his third trip around the cabin, securing the inner perimeter and 'checking egress' and Darcy was really wishing that she had one of Kate's tranquilizer darts.

“Could you... I really need you to sit down.” Darcy wiped an errant tear from her eyes.

He ignored her.

“Please?” Darcy clutched Gretel to her. “Please, Bucky?”

He stopped and turned slowly. She expected the cold, focused soldier look. But his expression was softer. “I have to protect you. That's my mission.”

“Okay. Yes. True. But you're kind of driving me crazy. So could you protect my sanity and sit?”

He sat down on a chair next to the couch. His back was ramrod straight. He looked uncomfortable, fiddling his hands like something was missing from them. Gretel hopped out of Darcy's arms and, purring all the while, settled herself into Bucky's lap.

This was her opportunity. She put one hand on Bucky's arm and the other on Gretel. She pretended not to notice the way he flinched at her touch. Quickly her brain cataloged the smartest people she knew. Fitz, Simmons, and Shuri could potentially be captured, or worse. Jane was in space with the Guardians.

“Gretel, take us to Tony. Come on girl.”

In response, the flerken blinked, stretched and purred more loudly.

Bucky looked up at her innocently. “Do you believe that your feline knows how to operate a motor vehicle?”

“No,” Darcy sighed. “Then again, you never know with her.”

“We don't have one, anyway.”

He was so matter-of-fact, so bland, so unlike her Bucky that Darcy lost control of her emotions and began to sob. Deep, body wracking sobs. “Shit. Shit. Shit.” She let herself have four sobs and then contained herself. He needed her. He needed her to protect him for once.

“Are you injured?” he asked almost at a whisper.

“No. But I... hurt.”

“Do you need... what do you need?” he looked lost and confused again. At least his hands had found something to do, smoothing Gretel's fur down her back.

“I need you to do what I ask. Can you do that?”

“Yes. As long as it doesn't interfere with my mission.”

“Your mission?”

“Yes. To protect you.”

“I promise that you can protect me. I promise. Do you remember anything before today?”

He frowned. Her head ached half from her crying jag and half from the way he looked; intently trying to remember something that he clearly couldn't.

“You remembered how to check the perimeter...” Darcy prompted.

“I don't... I just knew.”

“What if you had forgotten?”

He looked down, studying the way his fingers ran through Gretel's fur. “There would be punishment.”

“I'm gonna burn HYDRA to the ground, I swear.” It was under her breath, but he heard her.

“I am the fist of HYDRA,” He looked up at her, seemingly pleased that he remembered.

“Not anymore. You're not theirs anymore, Bucky.”

“Why are you calling me that?”

“That's your name.”

He frowned at her again. Darcy half-expected him to argue that he didn't have a name. But instead, he asked, “Do you have a name?”

“Yes. Can you remember it?” She tried desperately not to pin her hopes on this. But she still felt like she'd been kicked when he looked at her blankly. “Ms. Lewis. You can call me Ms. Lewis.”

“What are your instructions, Ms. Lewis?”

“Nothing. Just...pet the cat. And I'll make dinner. Okay?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

Darcy shut her eyes against the images that flooded her memory. His hands roaming her skin, teasing her with a 'yes ma'am' when she told him exactly how to touch her. His blue eyes sparkling with amusement and that grin... just before he put his mouth on her flesh. Another memory of her legs locked around his waist as he nibbled on her neck. A laughing 'yes ma'am' as she demanded that he take her to bed. She wasn't sure she was strong enough for this.

She hissed out, “Please don't say that.”

His eyes darted back to the ground, breaking eye contact. The idea that he was expecting her to punish him for some imagined wrongdoing was going to break her heart.

This was all going to break her heart.

Darcy took a deep breath in and out. “Hey. I promised I wouldn't hurt you, remember?”

“Yes. I remember.”

“I won't hurt you,” she promised, “Not ever. If you're hurt by something else or if you're sick than I'll take care of you. And whenever you're lost, I'll find you. No matter what, I will find you.”

He said that to her in the Soul Stone, right before they were torn out of there and put back into the real world. It was the last thing they said to each other there, and it meant something. It meant so much. She prayed silently that that phrase would spark some recognition. But instead, he replied, “I'm not lost.”

“Yes, you really are.”

Suddenly he was on his feet, cocking his head to the side like he heard something. From his waistband, he pulled a pistol. “Someone is coming.”

“Where the hell did you get a gun?”

“Under the sink.”

“ICERS. We use ICERS.” Bucky never used a gun anymore. He would always say that he had enough blood on his hands.

“My mission is to protect you.”

“From Natasha?” Darcy threw her hands up in complete frustration.

His eyes narrowed and he looked puzzled.

“I'm like 93 percent sure this is her safe house. And if I know Nat, she has some kind of silent alert system. It's totally Nat.”

“If there is a seven percent chance that it is not this 'Nat' then you need to get behind me.”

What Darcy did next was admittedly childish. But she was tired. And scared. And worried. So she stuck her tongue out at him and challenged, “Make me.”

Bucky had picked her up more times than she could count. Most of the time, she was dropped onto their bed. He would laugh and lick his lips as she bounced on the mattress.

But this was cold and harsh. He grabbed her around the waist and turned her, letting her go before she really had her footing.

“Hey!” She protested. But he was already facing the door, aiming the pistol at the entrance.

She was as surprised as he was when the pistol went flying across the room. Bucky stared at his hand in confusion.

Gretel hopped up onto the back of the couch and chirped, playfully batting at something in the air.

Where Gretel's prey had been, Hope VanDyne materialized. “You stop that,” she scolded the flerken. “What's with the gun, Barnes? You hate guns.”

“Is this person a threat?” Bucky growled to Darcy.

“No. She's not.” She pushed herself by Bucky and went to embrace Hope. “I'm assuming that Natasha is on her way?”

“She's such a slowpoke.”

“She can't _fly_, Hope.”

Bucky kept scowling their way.

“What's with you, Bucko?” Hope asked. And somehow his scowl got impossibly deeper.

“Let's talk outside,” Darcy took Hope by the arm. When Bucky started to follow she turned and pointed her finger at him. “Not you.”

“But....”

“Hope can protect me. She's the one who knocked that stupid gun out of your hand.”

He looked lost and sad when he nodded in assent. His eyes darted around and he wouldn't look at her. He seemed terrified that he had made some kind of mistake. Terrified that he had been replaced.

Darcy wanted to run back and give him a reassuring hug, but he didn't seem to be comfortable with touch. Then again, she couldn't leave him looking like that. “Can you please put the gun back where you found it? I promise that I will be back soon. Okay?”

He nodded but still looked heartrendingly sad. “Okay.” And then, almost too quietly for her to hear he asked, “Are you going to leave me?”

“Not ever.”

* * *

  


“The others? The kids?” Darcy started questioning Hope the second they stepped out the door.

Hope filled her in as the walked toward the Quinjet. “We don't know much yet. T'Challa's at the site with Nakia and Steve and Rhodey are on their way. Nat got the alert that her safe house had been compromised just after we got the distress call. We figured it had to have been Gretel.”

Darcy nodded. She was a little angry at Kate for a millisecond, sending her off to safety while the others were in danger. But then again...

“Darce? What is wrong with Barnes?”

“Something's wrong with Barnes?” Natasha asked, greeting them halfway.

“Something happened to him. Daisy's friend Robbie, he changed when we were attacked. He did something to Bucky. It's like he reset him back to soldier-mode.”

Natasha's face became hard and she took Darcy's arm. “Let's get you out of here.”

“Like hell!” Darcy pulled her arm away with a jerk.

“Darcy, he's dangerous.”

“Not to me!”

“He had a gun, Darce,” Hope reminded her.

“Again, not pointed at me.”

“Darcy, honey, I know how much you two love each other, but...”

“No buts, Nat. He's not scary soldier. He's scared soldier. And I'm not abandoning him when he barely knows his own name!”

Hope looked at Darcy with almost as much compassion as Natasha seemed to lack, “He doesn't know who he is?”

“He doesn't remember anything. Except that he doesn't want to be punished.”

“Fucking HYDRA,” Hope muttered.

“He doesn't know who you are?” Natasha clarified. Darcy gave a little shake of her head. “That doesn't really inspire confidence, Darce. I think we should take you two back to the Tower.”

“I don't think that's a good idea,” Darcy argued. “All that hustle and bustle...”

“We'd put him in one of Banner's safe rooms...”

“Absolutely not,” Darcy shook her head. “We're not locking him up. He hasn't done anything wrong.”

“It's not your call, Darcy.”

“He's my husband, Nat. It's one hundred percent my call. Listen, I know you're trying to protect me. But even without his memories, he's still my Bucky. He'd never hurt me. Not ever. Gretel could have taken us back to the Tower or the compound. She took us here. That has to mean something.”

“We're talking about the judgment of the same flerken who took me on an inter-dimensional tour of naked Steves.”

“She's older and wiser.”

“I think Darcy may be right,” Hope asserted, “It's quiet here. Secluded. I think if I needed to find myself, I'd rather do it somewhere like here.”

“As opposed to the Tower? Where we have the technology and scientists to...” Darcy suppressed a shudder at Nat's words. The idea of Bucky being experimented on, strapped to a chair... Natasha must have gotten the same mental image because she corrected, “I just heard myself saying that. You're right. We can't do that. Do you want us to stay?”

“I'll be okay. I'll get him back. Go help the others.”

“I'll leave you a bike for transportation. Here...a new phone, communicators, ICERS, dendrotoxin...” Natasha started pulling things off of her belt and handing them to Darcy.

“Sedatives?”

“Just in case. By the time you met him the nightmares weren't so bad. But at first, we had to sedate him to calm him down. Trust me. You might need them for your own protection.”

Darcy felt like the wind left her sails. “Do you really think he could hurt me?”

“Could? Yes. Would? I don't think so. Otherwise, I wouldn't be leaving you here, no matter how much you argue or how pitifully you look at me. But...yes. He could. I'm banking on the fact that you are too smart to let that happen. Now, dry those tears. Stop slouching. Get your ass back in there and remind him who he is.”

Hope offered more, “Just be you, Darce. You're his soulmate. If anyone can help him, it's you.”

“Thanks, guys.” Darcy glanced back at the cabin. He was in there, probably just sitting in that chair. He wasn't burning their dinner. Or playing a vicious game of Mario Kart with Daisy. He wasn't planning a prank war against Sam. Or letting Kate best him at darts. He wasn't reminiscing with Steve or teasing Steve with Natasha. He wasn't twirling her around the living room like it was a dance floor. He was just sitting there. Lost.

“Oh God, what if I can't? What if I've lost him? Shit. I can't do this.”

Natasha reached up and wiped a tear-off of Darcy's face. “I've seen you take on much scarier things than an amnesiac super-soldier who loves you. Even if he doesn't remember it yet.”

Hope's arm snaked around her shoulders and she said into Darcy's ear, “Have faith, Darcy.”

“You can do this, Darce. Call me if you need me. Or if you need Steve. Okay?”

Darcy sniffled and nodded. “Okay.”

Natasha cocked her head to the side, ever so slightly. “Darce? Do you want me to call Steve?”

Darcy sniffled even louder and wailed, “Yes.” But then she took a shaky breath and thought better of it. “No. Bucky and I are safe. Sam and the others need him more. I can do this.”

* * *

  


She expected him to be waiting impassively in the living room where she had left him. But Bucky was rummaging through the drawers in the bedroom instead. He didn't flinch or turn when she came in. He'd probably already re-memorized the sound of her footsteps on the floor so he didn't even turn to face her when she entered the room. Tucked in the back of his waistband was another gun. “I asked you to put the gun away,” she quietly reminded him.

He still didn't turn. “I did. This is a different one. There are weapons all over this house.”

Darcy sighed, “Damn it, Natasha.”

He finally turned to her. “But the only restraints I've found are in here.”

Darcy followed his gesture with her eyes, “In the nightstand...?”

“Yes. But they're odd.”

Bucky held up a pair of pink, fuzzy handcuffs. Darcy couldn't stop the hysterical laughter that bubbled up. “Oh my God! I'm going to give Cap and Nat so much shit about this!”

Darcy laughed and laughed until tears welled up in her eyes and her stomach hurt. When she looked up at Bucky he was smiling at her.

He was smiling.

Yeah. She could do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter taken from The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel


	7. Can He See or is He Blind?

Tony

Earlier that day...

Tony walked side by side with Agent May through medical. The terrorist cell they had taken out was armed with advanced weaponry. Bobbie's team had warned them that this wasn't their normal cell, but it was worse than they expected. No one on Tony's team had escaped unscathed, “Anything from Delta team yet?”

May shook her head, “Nothing yet. Bobbie said they’d be in deep cover. How’s Clint?”

“Broken ribs. Natasha is sitting with him. He’ll be fine.”

May waved her Starkpad with the data that Tony had transferred onto it, “I’m gonna take this to Coulson.”

Pepper was waiting at the end of the hall, looking very much like she intended to scold him, “Can we talk about your impromptu press conference?”

“Nope,” Tony replied glibly, “You gonna sic Lewis on me?”

“Yep.”

Tony peeked his head into Scott's room in medical. He hadn't been injured, but he'd spent way too long in giant form.

“How are you doing, Scott?”

Scott started to say something, stopped and vomited into a basin.

“Good to hear,” Tony replied.

Tony then faced the very large, very grumpy man that was leaning against the wall outside of YoYo's room, “Stark...”  
He responded with the same tone, “Mack...”

Pepper fought off a laugh, much to Tony's delight.

Mackenzie, on the other hand, sighed in exasperation at Tony in response, “Darcy’s gonna have a fit you know. You’re supposed to let me and her assistant handle the press.”

“You’re welcome. How’s Yoyo?”

“Don’t change the subject,” Mack shook his head and looked to Pepper for assistance.

“Tony...” she began.

“Pep. It’s fine. Darcy is not gonna yell at me.”

Just then, Steve came out of Clint's room. He saw Tony, shook his head and with a smile asked, “A tiny penis? Really?”

“I stand by my statement, Cap. Any man that obsessed with weapons has to be compensating for something.”

Steve and Pepper exchanged looks but said nothing

“I saw that. I compensate for nothing.”

A phone was shoved in Tony's face unceremoniously. Holding it was Darcy's assistant, looking more than a little frazzled. “Mrs. Barnes wants to talk to you, Mr. Stark.”

He looked at the phone and then at Darcy's assistant. “She's going to yell at me.”

* * *

Tony sighed, sat back and took another look at his photos of the terrorist's facility. Something caught his eye and he was just about to call May when Steve and Nat walked by. “Hey, check this out, Cap.”

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the image. There was a small, red symbol on one of the weapons. “That looks like...”  
“Hydra,” Steve finished with a growl.

Tony grabbed his phone. “I’m calling Barnes. Want me to say hey?”

He had just taken his phone out of his pocket when Friday announced, “Attention, the West coast facility is under attack.”

Tony dialed quickly. It went to Bucky's voicemail. “Keep em safe, Barnes,” he muttered under his breath as he dashed toward the Tower's command center.

  
  


_Three days after the defeat of Thanos_

_Tony, Peter, and Strange had stayed on Titan for three days after Strange had announced that Thanos was dead. How he knew, Tony had no clue. Some mystical mumbo jumbo. But Quill's ship was damaged and Tony was...well... Tony. So they stayed to help with repairs. Before he took the Earth dwellers back home, Strange promised Quill that he'd bring him the soul stone. Quill wanted to return it to Vormir, and bring Gamora's body back for a proper funeral. _

_Strange's gold portal caused quite a stir when it opened in Wakanda. But it didn't take much convincing to get an escort to the palace. _

_Strange and Tony walked side by side towards the palace in the center of the city, while Peter lagged behind as he talked on the phone, “Aunt May, I’m fine. I’m back on the planet. I mean, back in town, actually, I’m not in town... Do you know where Wakanda is?... Um...We went on a field trip.”_

_Tony could hear Peter's aunt freaking out on the other end of the line, “Might have to come clean, about your spider habit, kid.”_

_The head of the Dora Milaje greeted Tony at the palace door, “Mr. Stark, there’s been an incident.”_

“_Besides the big, purple meanie?”_

_A voice from Tony's past said his name and stepped out the door. “Tony.”_

“_Cap. Are you...?”_

_Steve gave a half-smile, “I’m okay. You?”_

“_Been better, been worse.”_

_Steve took a breath, and said, “Tony. There’s something you need to know. It’s about Pepper.”_

_Tony shook his head. He didn't want to hear this, “No.”_

_It was Okoye who explained, “She’s been taken. Hydra took advantage of the distraction. They took several civilian associates of the Avengers hostage.”_

_Steve said something that he must have assumed would soothe Tony, “Bucky, Rhodes and Sam went after Pepper.”_

_It did quite the opposite of soothing, “Barnes? You sent the man who killed my parents to rescue Pepper? Why didn’t you go? Huh, Cap?”_

“_Natasha and I went after the squad that took Drs Fitz and Simmons.”_

_(Tony found out later that Thor was back and that he, Groot and Rocket went to rescue Dr. Foster and her assistant. Pietro, Kate, and Clint went after the group that snatched Drs Cho and Palmer from a medical conference. Wanda stayed with Vision who was recovering from the removal of the Mind Stone.)_

“_Friday? Track down Rhodey’s armor.” Tony growled at Steve, “I’m not trusting **Barnes **to rescue Pepper. I’m going after her myself.”_

_Wanda emerged from the palace and said something to Strange, who nodded and portaled away without a word_

_Wanda touched Steve's sleeve, “Steve, we’ve just gotten word from Sam. They’re at the compound. it’s not good.”_

* * *

_As soon as the Iron Man suit touched down on the grounds of the compound, Pepper ran out, calling, “Tony? Thank god.”_

“_You’re okay, Pep?” He asked, even as he looked her over._

_Pepper let out a shaky breath, “Barnes..he...”_

“_What did he do to you?”_

“_What did he do to me?” she repeated, incredulously, “He saved my life! Hydra, they had me strapped to a table and were about to...”_

_Tony asked about, “The triggers? They didn't turn him?”_

_Pepper shook her head. “They tried. But he didn’t miss a step. He protected me even when...”_

_Rhodey, who along with Sam had walked out to meet Tony, explained, “He used his body as a shield when they opened fire.”_

_Sam added, “We think the bullets were made from vibranium. They tore right through him.”_

_The jet landed and Steve was the first off, barking a command for an update into a communicator._

_Sam continued, “if it wasn’t for the super-soldier serum, he wouldn’t have even made it to the jet. Even now, the docs aren’t sure...”_

_Tony stopped listening and started thinking about how he was going to save the life of a man that he once hated._

* * *

“_Yeah, I'm gonna need her here, Your Majesty.... the arm is shredded... Yeah well, a vibranium arm versus vibranium bullets...I wish I was kidding... He's not stable enough to bring to you... I'm sorry. I know you don't know me well, but I'm not exactly known for my patience....” He pressed the disconnect button and rubbed his eyes. Fatigue and frustration were rising to the surface. _

_From the doorway, a feminine voice asked, “How is he?”_

“_Well. He's a super-soldier. So...” He turned to see Jane Foster's assistant, Darcy, hovering in the doorway. Her eyes had deep, dark circles under them. “I didn't realize you were acquainted.”_

“_We're not. My grandpa knew him. Back in the war. He was kind of grandpa's hero.”_

“_Yeah? Well, he's Pepper's hero now too. Saved her life and got riddled with bullets for his trouble,” despite everything between Tony and Bucky, he had saved Pepper. Tony fought back the tears of shame and frustration that threatened to fall. He turned his attention to Darcy, “Shouldn't you be in bed?”_

_Hydra hadn't been kind to Darcy, torturing her physically to torture Jane mentally. They'd waterboarded the poor girl, resulting in a wicked case of pneumonia, but no lasting physical damage, thank God._

“_Can't stand that bed for another second,” Darcy mumbled._

“_You want to do me a favor, kid? Can you sit with him while I make some phone calls?”_

“_Sure,” she lit up a little at that and curled up in the chair at his bedside. He saw her eyes go to the book sitting on the nightstand. “Pep and Steve have been reading that to him. Feel free.”_

“_Thanks.” Darcy picked up the book. From the hall, he listened to her read aloud, __“__It's a dreadful remembrance. Besides that, his loss of himself grew out of it. Not knowing how he lost himself, or how he recovered himself, he may never feel certain of not losing himself again. That alone wouldn't make the subject pleasant, I should think.”_

* * *

Now  
  


Steve stopped him on the roof of the Tower, “Tony, we have this, we need you to stay here.”

“Come on, Cap,” he argued back.

“Your whole team is down and Delta is still undercover. If the Tower is attacked...”

“May! Piper! Davis! Coulson!” Tony listed off all the people that could protect the Tower, but Cap was not to be persuaded.

“Tony, I promise we will keep you in the loop.”

Natasha came down the ramp of the plane affectionately known as 'the bus', “Steve, we just got an alert that one of my safe houses has been compromised.”

“Hydra found one of _your_ safehouses?” Tony asked with shock.

Natasha looked offended, “More likely that a certain flerken found one of my safehouses.”

“So Barnes is probably not with Peter...” Tony didn't realize he said that aloud.

“But T'Challa is. We'll let you know what's going on. I promise.” And with that Cap was up the ramp and it was closing behind him. Tony stood on the roof watching 'the bus' fly away. He felt awfully damned helpless.

* * *

Vermis regarded the image of Armin Zola on the computer screen. “I've received intelligence that Mr. Osborn has been sharing his research with a competing group.”

Zola replied, “Have his experiments been delivered?”

“The spiders? They are en route to his facility in New York.”

“Then I would see to it that they do not get there.”

Vermis looked over at their prisoners. The doctors Fitz and Simmons looked concerned.

He looked Dr. Simmons in the eye as he commanded one of his soldiers, “Shoot the plane down, as we discussed.”

It was Dr. Fitz who had an outburst, “They're children! You bastard!”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Darcy is reading from A Tale of Two Cities. Chapter title taken from Iron Man by Black Sabbath


	8. Just Nod if You Can Hear Me

Daisy

Daisy's head was pounding. She didn't want to open her eyes because she knew the room would be spinning. But as long as she kept them closed she would keep reliving the memory that the Ghost Rider had punished her with.

“_Lincoln, what are you doing? This is crazy.”_

“_It's my purpose, I know that now.”_

“_It's supposed to be me...I saw the future. This is my destiny.”_

“_Yeah. Sorry. I stole it from you.”_

“_You can't just die for me like this! It's wrong!”_

“_Saving the girl I love and the world at the same time? Feels pretty right to me.”_

She finally couldn't take it anymore and opened her eyes, letting the dizziness wash over her.

Sam was lying next to her, his breathing was deep and even. His sleep looked peaceful. She hoped against hope that he hadn't been subjected to a similar painful memory.

Sam was a soldier. He must have taken lives. But the Ghost Rider only used the penance stare to punish the guilty, and a soldier doing his duty was hardly guilty.

Then again, neither was Bucky. And the way he screamed...

She turned onto her side to see Sam better, and that was when she realized; she had no idea where she was. They were in a bed covered in a soft, worn quilt. The room was cozy and feminine in its décor. She could hear the faint sound of a television playing in the next room, and the smell of something delicious cooking.

She closed her eyes again and drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Shuri

Every time Shuri shrugged the blanket off her shoulders, Peter put it back on. It was starting to drive her mad. “For the last time, Peter, I am not cold. I am not injured, and I am not in shock. I am trying to work.”

On the display, she could make out Nakia's position on the beach house grounds.

“Sorry. Just trying to be useful. I wish she'd let me go with her.”

“And risk upsetting my brother when he finds out she left Gabe and I unprotected?”

Nakia had met Peter, Gabe and herself at the tunnel's exit and told them that T'Challa had gone to the mansion. After being assured that Shuri and her companions were fine, Nakia went after Miles and Gwen, using heat signature patterns. Shuri was certain from the location that the heat signatures were of Miles and Gwen and whoever was trying to capture them.

Briefly, Shuri switched to the visual of the mansion. There were no heat signatures there, and no other life signs in the mansion. Her friends were either missing or dead, and there was no sign of her brother. Shuri put those thoughts behind her, flipped back to the area where Gwen and Miles were and concentrated on the task at hand. “She has tagged them,” Shuri announced as two of the heat signatures on her display turned blue.

“Can whoever attacked find the tag?” Peter asked leaning over her shoulder to observe.

“Please. I made those tags. You know me better than that.”

“She's moving away from them,” Peter commented as if Shuri couldn't see for herself. The number of heat signatures outside of Nakia's, Gwen's and Peter's was over forty. Too many for Nakia to try to take on.

“Hydra is taking Miles and Gwen,” Peter said with dread.

“She tagged them. We can follow.”

“Follow them how? They have helicopters and we're in the back of a bar with nothing but a Starkpad to work with.”

“Peter. It's going to be all right. The rest of the Avengers must have sent someone to assist by now. I'm sure that...”

“Stop,” Gabe muttered. “Just stop. My brother is probably dead. Your friends are dead. And Miles and Gwen are about to become science experiments.”

“That's pretty pessimistic,” a voice said from the doorway.

They all braced themselves at the intrusion. Peter even went into a fighting stance, but then relaxed and smiled, “Thank God.”

“Gabe Reyes,” Shuri introduced, “meet Captain America.”

* * *

Kate

Crawling through vents was not Hawkeye's idea of a good time. Not this Hawkeye anyway. Thank you very much. And honestly, she never would have pegged Robbie for a chatterbox, but he was crawling behind her and he would not shut up.

“So if your dad is a criminal, how'd you end up an Avenger?”

“Are we really having this conversation now?” Kate sighed, “I was kidnapped for ransom when I was a kid. Because, well, my dad is a crime lord. SHIELD was monitoring Dad's business dealings. Guess who rescued me.”

“SHIELD.”

“Yep. Specifically, Clint. He took me under his wing. And your story? Demon Boy?”

“Really? You want to have this conversation now?” He parroted back at her.

“I just want to make sure you get control of your powers. So you don't turn me into a roasted marshmallow.”

“I told you, they're not powers. It's a curse.”

“Semantics.” She paused. “You're supposed to say, 'I'm always up for some antics.' Jeez. I miss Clint.”

“I'm so sorry, Kate. About what happened. About your friends.”

“And if I hadn't already shot you twice, I'd shoot you again for hurting them. But we can help you. Bruce has a lot of experience with this kind of thing. Plus, the smartest people on the planet are my friends. It's gonna be fine.”

“You're worried about helping me? After what I did?”

“If you didn't have any control over it? Yes. I'm gonna help you.”

“And you're sure your friends will feel the same?”

“Well... I'm not exactly sure what you did to Bucky, but if anyone understands not having control over your actions, it's him. Darcy might kick your ass, though. Because, dude, it looked awful.”

“The Rider made him relive the deaths of every innocent killed by his hands.”

Kate stopped crawling. “Shit. Please tell me you're kidding.”

“I wouldn't joke about something like that.”

“Do you know who he is? What he's been through?”

“I...No.”

“He was brainwashed by HYDRA. They programmed him as an assassin. He's killed dozens of innocent people.”

“And this is your friend?”

“He had no free will. He didn't even know who he was. _He_ was innocent.”

“The Rider wouldn't see it that way.”

“Jesus. Poor Bucky. Is he gonna be okay?”

“I don't know.” After a beat, Robbie asked, “You still want to help me?”

“Yes,” she admitted grudgingly, “Because I'm awesome like that. Let's keep moving.” After a bit, she added, “By the way. Darcy is going to kill you. And you should probably stay away from their cat.”

“Their cat?”

“Trust me. That cat could take you down in a heartbeat.”

He let out a little laugh

Under her breath, Kate muttered, “He thinks I'm kidding. He has a flaming skull head, but he doesn't believe that I'm totally telling the truth about the terrible teeny tortie from Tartarus. What? The cat from hell. Jeez. Read a book.”

* * *

Darcy

Darcy kept a running commentary going while she made dinner. Every once and a while she would glance over at Bucky where he sat impassively at the breakfast counter.

“I mean, canned spaghetti sauce and dried pasta have their place I suppose. But that place is not in my kitchen. Then again we aren't in my kitchen. We're in a safe house. Specifically, Natasha's safe house. Which means, we have vodka, and it's the good stuff. And apparently pink fuzzy handcuffs. ”

She glanced again at Bucky, who was watching her intently, but still was inscrutable, even with Gretel purring and stretching like a strumpet to get his attention.

“What I wouldn't give for some fresh herbs. That would be awesome. I mean, this dried stuff is just...just...”

“An abomination,” he finished for her.

She stopped in her tracks.

“_These are an abomination, Sassy.” Bucky eyeballed the baby carrot that he had speared with his fork._

“_They are the best! Sweet and yummy. Plus you get to feel like a giant.” She grabbed one out of the pot roast pan with her fingers and popped it into her mouth._

“_Are they a mutation?” he asked, still studying the one on his fork._

“_No, silly,” she liked the gravy off her fingers and explained, “They're regular carrots. They just are cut up into little carrots and peeled so they're ready to go. And voila,” she pulled another one out, “baby carrots.”_

“_And what's wrong with regular carrots?”_

“_I told you, these make me feel like a giant.”_

“_You're a strange woman,” he chuckled._

“_But you like me,” she smiled back._

“_I like you a lot,” he admitted with a sly grin._

“_Don't get any ideas, mister. No playtime until you eat your veggies.”_

Because she was lost in a memory, Darcy wasn't paying as close of attention as she should have been when she went to drain the spaghetti. Boiling water splashed up onto her hand. “Shit! Stupid!”

Bucky was behind her in an instant, turning the faucet on and holding her hand under the cool tap water. “How badly are you injured?”

“I'm okay,” she exhaled, stunned by his proximity. Physically, he was no different, he was her husband, her soul mate. But in the ways that mattered, he wasn't anymore. He had no memory of her. His personality was nearly wiped away. And yet...

He was turning her hand with his, studying for any sign of injury. There was none, other than some redness, but he didn't let her hand go.

He had to be able to hear her heart thundering in her chest. He had to notice the blush rising up her neck to her cheeks. Maybe if she just pulled him into her arms and kissed him senseless, he'd remember. Or maybe she'd confuse the hell out of him and make everything so much worse.

“I'm okay,” she repeated.

His eyes had been fixated on her hand in his. He brought his eyes up to meet hers and nodded. “If you're sure you're unharmed,” he said, not in the terse soldier voice he'd been using. His words were soft, almost tender. His voice was heart breaking-ly familiar.

For the third time, she said, “I'm okay.”

He backed out of the kitchen and Darcy pretended that nothing unusual had just happened. She resumed her commentary about the evils of canned spaghetti sauce as she fixed them each a plate. “And of course, we have this crappy powdered Parmesan junk. Ugh. Our palates are going to be totally ruined by this over-processed crap. Did you know she has Chef Boyardee in this cabinet? Chef Boyardee. Unreal.”

She met his eyes again as she set the plate in front of him. She swore she wasn't imaging the faint smile of amusement on his face.

“Eat,” she commanded with a smile.

He dutifully picked up a fork and began twirling the spaghetti around. She turned her back for a second and went to grab a few glasses from a cabinet, “What do you want to drink? Water? Soy milk? Vodka?”

“Milk?” But the way he said it, it wasn't like he was asking what milk was, or even if he could have it. It was something else. She turned to see a haunted look on his face.

“Bucky?”

He was speaking so quietly that she had to strain to hear him.

“I remember a man. He killed a woman. For no reason. And I just sat there.”

She reached across the counter to take his hand and then pulled back. He hadn't liked to be touched earlier. She doubted that he would have touched her just now if she hadn't burned herself.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, drawing her hand back.

“No,” he reached out and took it himself. Squeezing her hand like it was some kind of lifeline. “Who am I?”

“You're Bucky,” she soothed. “And you went through a trauma. And I think your brain has kind of gone on the fritz.”

“The fritz?” He looked up at her, no longer living that memory. He was back with her.

“Yeah. To protect your psyche or whatever. And eventually, I think it's all gonna come back. Maybe just a little at a time. And maybe not. But some of it is gonna be hard. Because some of it...it's kind of awful.”

“I'm...” he paused, “awful?”

“No! No. The things that happened to you are...awful.” He was looking up at her with trust and she just couldn't hurt him with the truth. “But...there's a lot of good too. In fact...there's a lot of wonderful that I hope you remember. And you will. And I'll be here. For both. The awful memories, and the wonderful ones.”

He gave a sad nod. And she offered, “Let's make a deal. You promise to protect me from all the scary stuff out there,” she pointed to the door to the cabin. “And I'll promise to help you get through the scary stuff in there,” this time she pointed to his forehead. “Deal?”

“Deal.”

* * *

Rhodey

Rhodey was constantly aware that a very worried young woman could hear everything he said. Otherwise, he would say how he really felt when he and Steve arrived at what must have been a temporary HYDRA base.

“We're too late,” Steve said. “They've vacated. No sign of our people.”

They knew from the security footage and Nakia's report that HYDRA had taken six hostages: Gwen and Miles, Fitz and Simmons, and Kate and Robbie Reyes. Sam and Daisy were sent somewhere by Fitz, possibly to another world entirely. And Bucky and Darcy were somewhere with Gretel, most likely one of Natasha's safe houses.

Rhodey swore that the image of Bucky screaming would haunt him forever. He'd never seen anyone is so much distress, even in war.

“We're clear,” Rhodey said, shaking that image out of his head. “Princess? Want to take a whack at these computers?”

“I thought you'd never ask,” her voice came in through the communicator and within a minute she was inside the facility, heading straight toward the computer monitor. Nakia was close at her heels.

“I don't need a bodyguard,” Shuri mumbled.

“You do,” Nakia replied. “Because if you're half as reckless as your brother...”

This time, the picture in Rhodey's head almost made him laugh out loud. Nakia told them that T'Challa had latched himself onto the bottom of the helicopter flying away with Gwen and Miles. Rhodey kept picturing that poster of a cat hanging from a rope that said “hang in there” that was popular when he was a teenager.

“Did I miss the party?” Another voice came over the communicator.

“You're late, Nat,” Rhodey teased. “Did you stop for a martini?”

“You know I never dilute my vodka, Rhodes.”

“Bucky and Darcy?” Steve asked.

“Physically safe.”

“That sounds ominous,” Rhodey muttered.

“We're about two minutes out, guys.”

“We'll see you soon, then,” Steve said.

Rhodey went over to the computer screens to see what Shuri was doing. “How's it going, Princess?”

“They've wiped the data,” she said, still tapping on the keys.

“So we've got nothing?”

“I didn't say that,” she said with a smile. “I'm quite competent with computers.”

“Understatement of the century.”

“Peter?” She asked into her communicator, “Are you ready for the upload?”

To Rhodey she said, “We're uploading everything to a remote server on the bus. We can analyze the data I retrieve from there. Have no worries, Agent Rhodes. I'll find our friends and my idiot brother.”

“To think, I was gonna reassure you.” He patted her on the shoulder and smiled, reassuring her anyway.

* * *

Kate

“Katherine.” Derrick Bishop greeted Kate as she dropped out of the vent.

“Shit. I knew that was too easy,” she muttered.

“Relax, Mr. Reyes,” Kate's dad raised his hands up at the sight of Robbie, who was immediately bracing for a fight as he dropped down. “I won't force you to stay. I realize that I've made an error in judgment.”

“You kidnapped us, Dad. More than an error in judgment.”

“I'm used to taking what I want. But I forgot that every time I try to hold too tight to you, you slip through my fingers. So I'm going to ask. Please. Hear me out.”

Kate crossed her arms over her chest and glared in response.

He held his phone out as a peace offering. “Here. Call your friends.”

“I'm not using your phone. Are you crazy?”

“Fine. The three of us will go somewhere public. Somewhere of your choosing. You can borrow a phone from whomever you choose. Just... let me explain.”

* * *

Gwen

“I'm gonna be sick,” Gwen mumbled to herself. She tried to raise her hands to her face and realized that she couldn't.

Her eyes snapped open and she quickly surveyed her surroundings. Her arms and legs were strapped down into a chair.

It was a monstrosity of a chair. Like some kind of torture chair from one of those science fiction movies that Miles liked to watch.

She pulled on the straps. Once. Twice. Three times.

“Shit,” she muttered. Then reflexively she looked around for one of the adults to scold her.

Her head was pounding, so she closed her eyes again.

“What a shitty night,” she said to no one in particular. First the attack on the beach house, then the tunnel collapsed. She was taken hostage by one group of people, handed over to another, and then the first group hijacked the plane she and Miles were on. They took her back and then blew the plane up.

“Ah,” a computerized voice announced, “You are awake. My name is Zola. Welcome to my web, little spider.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title taken from Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd


	9. Two Lost Souls, Swimming in a Fishbowl

Bucky

Things were not going well with his handler.

There weren’t very many things the soldier knew for sure but the fact that she was his handler was one of them, despite her numerous protests.

Somehow he had made her happy when he showed her the handcuffs. But he didn’t know why and he didn’t know how to repeat it.

She instructed him to eat so he did. And that seemed to please her.

He remembered something. And even though the memory was terrible, she seemed to be happy that he had remembered anything at all.

After that things started to go wrong.

He crossed his arms over his chest and repeated, “The asset does not require sleep. He needs to keep watch.”

Ms. Lewis narrowed her eyes at him and scowled, “Don’t call yourself that. Your name is Bucky.”

He found himself letting out a little sigh. Another handler would probably punish his display of emotion, but Ms. Lewis seemed to like it when he showed how he was feeling. “_Bucky_ doesn’t require sleep. He needs to keep watch.”

Ms. Lewis took a pillow off the bed and screamed into it.

She slowly removed it from her face and glared at him. “What happened to you doing what I tell you?”

His left eyebrow cocked up as he explained, “Your order interferes with my mission.”

“You don’t need to protect me! We’re safe here! You've been through the ringer tonight and you need _sleep_.”

“The asset does not require sleep. He needs to keep watch.”

She screamed again, this time without the pillow, stomped out of the room, and locked herself in the bathroom.

He wanted to please her. He wanted to keep her safe.

What he didn’t want was to hear her crying in the bathroom with the door between them.

He didn't know what to do.

Darcy

Intergalactic Facetime had been a lifesaver more than once since Jane and Thor had joined the Guardians of the Galaxy. But it had never been more important to Darcy than it was now. She told Jane everything about the evening, right up to Bucky's refusal to rest and the resulting argument.

“Jane I can’t do this.”

“It sounds like you don’t have a choice. Unless you plan on giving up on Bucky.”

“He’s not Bucky. He’s ...not.”

“Well then, drop him off at the Tower and let the Avengers deal with him. Or better yet, hand him off to Hydra. You gave it a couple of hours, right?”

It was a brutal rebuke of Darcy's attitude. And Darcy told her so with a sigh, “That’s harsh Jane.”

“You needed a little harsh. And he needs you.”

“He doesn’t _know_ me...”

“So remind him! Both of you forgot each other after the soul stone. And you found each other again. At least this time _one_ of you remembers.”

“He’s not himself,” she argued quietly.

“And from what I understand he wasn’t himself after Washington either. If he came back from that, he can come back from this, right?”

Darcy voiced her worst fear. “What if he never remembers?”

Jane was assertive. “Then you start over. Don't give up on him.”

“I won't. God, I feel like such a...”

Jane softened, “Like what, honey?”

“I don't even know. You're right, I'm giving up way too easy.”

“You're just overwhelmed. And that's totally normal, Darce. Is anyone coming to help you? Steve? Sam?”

“They're trying to help the others. We're safe. So... I'm on my own, I think.”

“You're never alone, Darcy. Not really.”

Darcy let out one last shaky sigh, “Thanks Janie.”

“Anytime. Just promise me one thing.”

“What's that?”

“Don't taze your husband.”

Bucky

The crying had stopped.

He could hear her calling someone on the phone so he stepped outside. It seemed like the polite thing to do.

Polite. What a strange thing for him to worry about. He'd check the perimeter again. That's what he should have been doing instead of indulging in a meal. Or petting the feline. Or touching her hand.

He shouldn't have done that. The way he'd held her hand after she'd burned herself. And then again, when he had no real reason to. He'd... taken liberties. She was his mission, he reminded himself. He'd be more careful from now on.

She was standing on the porch when he finished his circuit.

She was twisting her lovely hands in front of her. He hoped that she wouldn't aggravate her injury. He moved to stop her when she said, “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

He blinked.

“The asset...” he stopped. She didn't like him calling himself that. He tried again, “_I _don’t require an apology.”

“Well, you’re getting one. You deserve one. I’m not your handler, Bucky. I’m your...friend. And I am not being a very good one right now. So...I’m sorry.”

She looked so sad. He frowned for a second, trying to find the right words that would make her look less so. “I accept your apology, Ms. Lewis.”

She gave him a half-smile and gestured towards the cabin. “Let's get inside before the mosquitoes eat us alive.”

He took the first step up to the porch and the board wobbled. A strange wave of vertigo hit him. He saw a man grabbing for his hand, calling out for Bucky. For him. He watched his hand reaching, becoming more and more cold in the mountain air.

The world steadied when his hand suddenly was engulfed in warmth. Ms. Lewis was holding that hand. He squeezed it, making sure it was real.

“Are you okay?” she asked, steadying him with a touch.

“I was falling.”

“Are you remembering something?”

“I don't know. I fell. I was in the mountains. And a man was reaching for me...calling my name. Is it a memory?”

“Yes,” she smiled, “Yes it is.”

He shook his head. “It wasn't a good one.”

“There are some good ones in that brain of yours. I promise.” She didn't let his hand go as she led him into the house.

“Are you in any of them?”

“Yeah. Yeah I am.” After they entered the cabin she turned and gave her head a little tilt, like she was planning something. “How about another deal? We take turns sleeping? Would that work for you?”

“That would be acceptable... tomorrow. I would prefer to keep watch tonight.” He paused and then added a quiet, “please.”

“All right. But I'm too worked up to sleep, so I'm going to stay up with you.”

“You need your rest, Ms. Lewis.”

She plucked a book off of a small book shelf and smiled innocently. “We've had this argument already. It didn't go all that well. You sure you want to repeat it?”

“We wouldn't have had an argument if you would behave.”

He really had no idea why that amused her. But she chuckled and added under her breath, “Yeah. We've had that argument a lot too.”

  
  


Darcy

She actually got absorbed in the book, surprisingly. Who would have thought that Natasha was an Austen fan? Bucky had done a quick check of the windows and then settled onto the couch next to her. Gretel took advantage of the opportunity and settled into his lap.

“Does she have a name?” He asked quietly. Darcy looked up from her book and his eyes widened, “I'm sorry. I disturbed you.”

“I've read this book about a dozen times. No big. Her name is Gretel.”

He ran his hand down Gretel's back to her tail. She purred and started marching in place. A smile spread across Bucky's face at Gretel's antics. “She's a strange thing, isn't she?”

“She definitely has her moments,” Darcy agreed.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You can ask me anything.” Darcy replied with faux confidence.

“Why read a book if you've already read it a dozen times?”

“Because it's familiar. And comfortable.”

“I see,” he nodded benignly and then stood and started wandering around the room. “I don't want to be comfortable. I need to remain alert.”

“We're safe here. I promise.”

And then he said, “If you say so,” with more than a little sarcasm.

Darcy's eyes widened in delight and she let out a little snort.

“I'm...” he sputtered. “Please. I'm sorry.”

“It's okay. It's way okay.” Her Bucky was in there somewhere. And he was already starting to come to the surface. “You just reminded me that my friend Jane is pretty much always right.”

  
  


Bucky

He didn't know what possessed him. But the piano was just so tempting. He glanced over at Ms. Lewis. She was still awake. Still reading her book. He sat down and touched the keys gently. He pressed down on a few, creating a chord. Then a few more. His fingers created the melody without a thought.

He stopped when Ms. Lewis sat down beside him on the bench.

“I'm sorry. I should have asked first.”

“I really wish you'd stop apologizing all the time.”

“I'm...” he stopped and looked over at her, not knowing what to say next.

“Uh oh. Malfunction,” she leaned over and bumped her shoulder into him. “I didn't mean it like a command. You know how I said you need to do what I ask? Scratch that. Just trust me. Okay?”

“Okay. I can do that.”

“I'd love it if you kept playing.”

He started again. This time allowing his fingers to pluck out a different melody. The words to the song started tickling at his mind. He could picture a man twirling around a woman in a satin and feather dress. Ginger. Her name was Ginger. And then he saw his own hand holding a woman's hand above her head as he twirled her around just the same. Brunette waves flew out as she spun but he couldn't see her face. A different voice started singing the song in his head. A raspy voice who asked someone named Ella to sing with him. He put the finishing notes on the song. Cheek to Cheek, it was called. And he turned to Ms. Lewis to tell her what he remembered. She had a trail of moisture down her cheeks.

“You're crying. I made a mistake,” he pulled his hands away from the keyboard.

She covered his hand with her own. “No. Good cry. I promise.”

“Good cry?”

“Yeah. You know sometimes you cry because you're happy or because something is so beautiful that it just... You look confused.”

“I don't understand. Crying is because of pain. Because you were harmed. Or punished. Or...” A picture of a woman formed in his head. She was crying. She was sitting in a car. A passenger seat. And she was crying out for someone named Howard. Bucky put his hand around her neck and crushed. Then another woman, this one begging for her life as he pushed her off a roof. He shot a man. And then another. He drove a knife up into a man's heart. A flood of memories washed over him. All of death by his hands.

He raced to the bathroom and vomited into the toilet.

“Bucky?” Ms. Lewis reached over and flushed the toilet and then started rubbing circles on his back.

“Don’t...” he jerked away from her. She shouldn't be touching him. He wasn't worthy of comfort. “What am I?” he rasped.

She knelt next to him, dabbing a wet wash cloth on his forehead. He hadn't even noticed her turning on the faucet and wetting it. “What do you remember?” she asked softly.

He shook his head. He couldn't tell her. She was so kind. So gentle. And the things he had just seen were cruel and ugly. Tears flooded his vision. “I’m a monster. I’m a monster,” he whispered.

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her. He should have resisted. But he wanted to bury his face in her neck. He wanted to feel her gently sway as she held him. He wanted her to say the things she was saying, “You’re a good man. You are.”

He indulged in it. The comfort of her embrace and her words. He indulged in the warmth of her embrace and the smell of vanilla on her skin. He indulged until the thought of taking comfort from her sickened him. “I’m a murderer,” he admitted with a whisper. Telling her felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest.

“You're not. You're good,” she placed a kiss just above his ear and whispered into his hair, “It's going to be okay, Bucky. I promise.” One of her hands was nestled at the back of his neck, while the other drew circles on his back.

He had watched himself strangle a woman with one hand. And there was Ms. Lewis, comforting him like he was the victim. What if he harmed her? Or worse. He couldn't take that risk.

“Can I...? I need some water. Please.”

“Of course,” she kissed his forehead before she rose. He knew what he had to do. He couldn't take the chance that he would hurt her. He watched her walk away and then shut the door to the bathroom. He turned on the faucet to cover the sound of the window opening. Then, as quietly as possible, he made his escape.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title taken from Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here


	10. A Supersonic Man

Sam

There was a knock on the door. Sam opened his eyes and looked around. He was covered in a quilt in a bed that wasn't his. Wasn't Daisy's. Certainly not a hotel room. “Where...?”

“Hey, Sam. It's about time you woke up,” a familiar blonde girl poked her head into the room.

“Gwen? You're safe. Thank God. Where's Miles?”

“Oh honey, no,” it was then that he realized that this Gwen was a few years older. Her hair was shorter. Her clothes were edgier. And she was carrying a coffee cup that said StarkBucks on it. “Wrong Gwen. You're in my world.”

“Jesus,” Sam stood and stretched. His head was still pounding. “Well, it's good to see you again, girly girl.” And it was good to see her, especially since this time they weren't chasing a mad scientist and a dimension-hopping flerken. “Daisy?”

“The living room. Mary Jane is regaling her with less than exciting stories about one of our gigs.”

“Gigs?” Sam took the cup that she handed him. The coffee was not as good as Starbucks, but it'd do.

“You think Spider-woman-ing is all I do? I'm in a band.”

“Of course you are,” he smiled.

“The drummer.”

“I expect nothing less.”

“I _literally_ rock.”

With a raise of his glass, he agreed, “That you do, Ms. Stacy.”

* * *

Miles

Sometimes Miles felt like the least special superhero on the planet. Sure, Kate was the second Hawkeye and Bucky was the second super-soldier. But he wasn't even second. He was the_ third_ spider. The youngest. The smallest. The least comfortable with his abilities.

He had always been told he was smart. Hell, he _was_ smart. Gifted, the teachers called him. But then he was always around Gwen and Peter who were _more_ than gifted. And then Shuri started spending time with them. And she was quite literally the smartest person on the planet. It was no wonder he had an inferiority complex.

So maybe that's why Miles was enjoying the sight of the HYDRA scientists panicking a little too much.

Not that he felt sorry for them. Those jerk faces didn't deserve sympathy. Not after they strapped him in that chair and electrocuted him. It hurt like hell. And for a while, he couldn't remember who he even was. But like a spider building a web that had been knocked down, the strands all came back together pretty quickly. First, his name came back. Then his family. Then his friends. And then he started remembering the things he could do. And maybe because he wasn't limited by his own insecurities, or maybe HYDRA had zapped them into him, he noticed some other, new abilities.

He was alone in his cell when his hands disappeared. It took a few moments to realize it wasn't just his hands. He'd disappeared. He was invisible.

That was new.

Just as quickly as he had become invisible, he came back. It made him a little dizzy so he reached out for his cot and then zapped it.

He freaking zapped it.

HYDRA made a mistake in kidnapping him. They made another mistake in leaving him alone in a room without supervision to practice his new abilities. They made a third, final mistake, in hurting his best friend.

He heard Gwen scream and he knew that they were putting her in that chair.

Miles placed his hands on the electronic keypad next to his cell door and zapped. Miles thought hard and let the invisibility overtake him.

Then he raised holy hell on those stupid scientists. And he didn't feel even a little bit sorry for the hell he raised. He was getting to Gwen and no one was going to stop him now.

* * *

Steve

The quinjet streaked through the sky, chasing after the trackers that Nakia had gotten onto Gwen and Miles. There had been a moment of panic when the plane that had been carrying them was shot down. But their trackers kept moving through the sky. They were essentially taken hostage after being kidnapped.

Their trackers had stopped moving in Argentina. While Steve and his team minus Rhodes were en route one of the trackers blinked out. Steve didn't want to think about what that could mean.

Steve ran his hand over his chin. He needed a shave. He needed sleep. He needed a shower. And he needed food. It was unlikely that he would get any of them in the near future.

The grey sky of pre-dawn reflected his mood. He hated waiting. He hated missions like this. All he was doing was picking up pieces of a mess. He hated not knowing what the hell was going on. Natasha would say he was an adrenaline junkie and that's why he hated waiting.

“Get some rest, Steve,” Natasha instructed.

“Can't,” he admitted. “We don't know what we're gonna find when we land. Fitz and Simmons are still missing. Bucky is... And we've left Kate behind...”

Natasha ticked off each group with her fingers. “Rhodey is looking for Kate and he's keeping Shuri safe. Peter and Nakia are picking T'Challa up and going through the wreckage for clues. We're on this, sweetheart. Get some rest. Please, Steve.”

“Can't believe T'Challa isn't dead after falling out of a plane,” he mumbled.

“I'd say something funny about cats always landing on their feet, but I don't think you're in the frame of mind to appreciate it.”

From the pilot's seat, Hope let out a snort.

Steve still was mired in worry. “You're sure Darcy can handle...?”

“Darcy can handle Bucky. Stop worrying about the things you can't control.”

“While I'm at it, you should tell me to stop breathing.”

He caught the blanket and pillow that Natasha tossed at him and pretended to close his eyes. It was best to do what she told him to do.

That was something that Nat reminded him repeatedly. Mostly because she was usually right.

* * *

Bucky

He had been on foot for two hours when he was ambushed.

The feline, Gretel, was standing in the woods in front of him. Her tail was twitching in agitation and she let out a howl of displeasure. “I'm sorry, but I'm not going to take you back,” he told her. “I have to go. You need to go back on your own. Go on.” He shooed at her but she responded by winding herself around his legs. In his memories, he was an emotionless killer. So why did he feel so guilty about leaving a cat alone in the woods? He picked her up with a sigh.

The whole world seemed to drop out from under him. And then, suddenly, he was back in the cabin. Ms. Lewis was standing in front of him looking livid.

“How did she do that?” he breathed.

She was calm as she explained, “She's not actually a feline. She's a flerken.” She then burst into anger, “And don't you ever do that to me again! I was so scared for you.”

“...you shouldn't...I'm a monster,” he kept his eyes cast down.

“Hell no. Nope,” Ms. Lewis was poking him in the chest. “I won't let you talk about yourself like that.”

“Ms. Lewis...” he met her gaze and pleaded for her to understand, “you're not safe with me.”

Her anger dissipated when she quietly insisted, “I am safer with you than I am with anyone else.”

“I could hurt you.”

“You wouldn't. Not ever,” then Ms. Lewis grinned and nodded toward Gretel, “And if you tried, she'd eat you. Now sit and tell me everything you remembered... “

He did what he was told. He sat. But telling her everything? He couldn't stand what she would think of him. It was almost like she was reading his mind when she said, “It's okay. I already know everything. Just talk to me.”

“People. That I murdered. They all came back to me. One memory after another. Like a flood. I just... I killed them without even caring. Like...”

“Like someone without free will?” Her eyebrow was arched.

He looked up at her, questioning what she was implying.

“There's going to be more things that you remember that are really awful. Really awful.”

“More things that I've done?”

“No. Well maybe, yes. And things that were done _to you_. And... I know that it sounds crazy but after you remember_ those_, you may forgive yourself a little for the things you remembered tonight.”

“How could I possibly...?”

“I said a little. And then you'll remember more that will make you forgive yourself more. And you'll remember things that are so good. So beautiful...”

She was sitting next to him, holding his hand, and the words tumbled out, “As beautiful as you?....” As soon as he said it he was sure he'd made a mistake, “I'm sorry. I have no right.”

Instead, she patted his hand. “I'm going to start breakfast. Don't run away again.”

Then she smiled at him.

Her eyes sparkled when she smiled.

* * *

Kate

Kate wiped an errant tear from her eye. “Jesus, dad all you had to do was ask.”

She didn't want anyone to see her cry, so she concentrated on poking her fork into her eggs, letting the yolk spill out into her hash browns.

She'd spent her childhood in fancy restaurants, but she always preferred little 24-hour breakfast diners.

“You'll do it?”

“Of _course_ I'll do it. My _siste_r needs a bone marrow transplant. Of course, I'm gonna do it. Like I said, you just had to ask. Instead, you got mixed up with HYDRA. Stupid.”

“Parents can do stupid things for their children.”

“Well, I have some favors I'd like to ask. It's not a condition or anything. Just things to consider, you know if you want _both _of your daughters in your life.”

“Name them.”

“First, you ensure that Robbie gets safely to Avengers Tower. I'll call Bruce and get things set up.”

Robbie looked over at her with sad eyes, “Kate you don't have to...”

“Shuddup, I'm talking,” she barely noticed the smile he gave her. She noticed. But, like, barely. “Next favor. Try not to be a bad guy. I mean, I know you aren't actively killing people but you look the other way and make money off of scams and shit. So knock it off. Go legit.”

“I'll... consider it.”

“Whatever. And this is big. If you ever want to really have me back in your life, you need to tell me everything. Right now. About HYDRA and what they want. Their plans, their locations. Every. Single. Thing. Okay?”

“I can do that, Katherine.” Then he corrected, “Kate.”

* * *

Gwen

“Okay, this isn't going as well as I had hoped,” Miles admitted.

“Ya think?”

The first time Zola had put her in the chair, she had forgotten who she was for a while, it made her head hurt and her ears bleed. It, for lack of a better word, sucked. So when he had soldiers try to strap her in again, she screamed and kicked and generally acted like a spaz. Dignity be damned, she wasn't getting back in that thing without a fight.

Then Miles had somehow rescued her.

Somehow... because she had no idea how he had become freaking invisible. He put his hands on the computer and this blue-green energy shot out and Zola was gone. Unfortunately, it also caused the troops to come running. They were seriously outmanned and in that tiny room, they had very little room to maneuver.

So there they were. In a tiny room. With no web-shooters. Surrounded by HYDRA agents with guns.

“Can you do that thing again?” she asked, spinning away from a spray of bullets.

“Which thing?” he asked, kicking a rifle out of an agent's hands.

“The thing with your hands.”

“I call it a venom strike,” he said proudly.

“I don't care what you call it, Miles. Just do it. We're getting our asses kicked here.”

“Cover me, okay?”

“Cover you?”

“I have to charge up.”

“Okay, fine. I'm covering you.”

* * *

Tony

“Grand Central station,” Tony answered the screen with a tap.

“Tony.”

“Whassup Cap?” he asked, popping some trail mix into his mouth.

“We're letting you know we're en route back with Fitzsimmons and the kids.”

“You found 'em? Good. Everyone okay?”

“Miles is unconscious but otherwise...”

“Wait... what's wrong with Miles?” Tony asked worriedly.

“He blew up,” Gwen's voice rang out.

“What?! Cap, put GirlSpider on.”

“That is NOT going to be my codename,” Gwen insisted as she came into view.

Normally just the sight of one of the little spiders made Tony happy. Especially Gwennie with her mop of unruly blonde hair and that gap between her teeth. Frankly, she reminded him of Pepper with her graceful, unflappable nature and her ability to put up with ridiculous males. But right now, the idea that one of the kids, 'blew up' was making him feel a little edgy.

“We'll worry about your code name later. What happened to Miles?”

“Well we were totally surrounded, and Miles said he needed to charge up. And then... energy just...pow.”

“That's not super descriptive, Gwennie!”

“That's why we uploaded a video, Tony. There were cameras everywhere. And Miles only zapped like, a third of them.”

“It's coming to you now,” Romanoff promised, off-screen.

Gwen was right. Miles's body filled with yellow energy that came pouring out of his eyes and hands and then...pow. Everyone was down except Gwen. Miles promptly dropped like a sack of potatoes. And about thirty seconds later, Cap, Nat and Hope stormed the room.

“You were late to the party, Cap.”

“Yeah. I know. We found Fitz and Simmons in separate cells in the facility.”

“And did they tell you what the hell they were thinking getting captured?”

“We were undercover,” Fitz yelled off-screen.

“Bang-up job. Way to be held captive.”

“Any news on the others?” Cap asked. Poor guy actually looked pretty exhausted.

In fact, considering how terrible he looked, Tony was practically giddy to give him the news. “Katie Kate is fine. A whole planeload of Avengers and Avenger-adjacent folks are on their way here with her. T'Challa and Peter and Shuri.... you name 'em we got 'em. And Gwennie's counterpart sent a couple of lovebirds my way. Dropped them right in the middle of my lab.” He angled the screen so Cap could see Sam and Daisy, on his most comfortable couch, snoring.

“And Bucky?”

“Darcy called me. He's remembering. But not the good stuff. He had a freak-out and ran off.”

“And you didn't lead with that?!”

“Relax, Cap. He's back with her. He was retrieved via flerken. She's got things under control. Chill out. If you can.”

He snapped off the communicator and tried to go back to work. He was interrupted by a yowl.

Gretel was at his feet, frantically pushing her head against his leg.

“Hey, demon fuzzball. I was just talking about you.”

He reached down to pick her up and felt the world drop out from under him.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title taken from Don't Stop Me Now by Queen


	11. I've Forgotten if They're Green or They're Blue

Bucky

_The voice was in Russian, “How long has this been going on?”_

“_The Asset became agitated when he came back from the mission, we've been unable to approach.”_

_Bucky Barnes screamed at the man in English, “What did you make me do? I knew him!” He grabbed a scalpel and held it, ready to slice up any man that approached._

_The Russian, Karpov, instructed. “Wipe him.”_

“_We can't approach,” the other soldier argued._

“_Use the cattle prods. And if he dies it is no longer of consequence. I have enough serum to make five more, thanks to Howard Stark.”_

* * *

Darcy

Bucky had fallen asleep on the couch while she was making breakfast. He chuckled once, in his sleep while mumbling, “punk”. Darcy smiled to herself and returned to the skillet. The first pancake was a disaster, but the second was looking pretty good.

Suddenly, Gretel scrambled off of the counter where she had been waiting for a stray piece of pancake to come her way. Gretel's beeline for Bucky was a sure-fire sign he was having a nightmare.

When she got to the couch his face was pinched, his brows so furrowed it had to hurt his face. His fists were clenched so tight, it was a wonder he wasn't bleeding.

Gretel laid on his chest and began butting his chin with her head.

“Bucky, you're not with them anymore. They can't hurt you. You're safe.” She knelt above his head, stroking his hair while resting her elbows on the armrest of the couch. “Tell them to leave you alone, and dream of something else.”

A tear streaked down his cheek.

“Come on, babe. Dream of something else.”

Darcy was used to the nightmares. She could almost always redirect him toward a more pleasant dream. But this time, he descended further into the nightmare. It was like a switch had flipped when he yelled out, “No!” and started screaming. He flung his arms out and kicked, and Darcy was thankful that she had chosen to perch above his head, out of the line of fire. Even so, she scrambled backward. If he hit her, he could seriously injure her, and he'd never forgive himself for that.

“Bucky! You have to wake up. Wake up!”

His skin became deathly pale and he started sweating. The tears were flowing freely now. And he wouldn't stop screaming. Darcy was starting to panic. The screams coming from him were gut-wrenching. She'd only seen his nightmares get that bad a few times, and both times she had to get Steve to hold him down.

“Bucky please wake up!”

Gretel was forced off of Bucky's chest when he arched his back and bucked up like he was being electrocuted. She let out a screaming yowl of protest.

“Oh god, oh god, I need help.”

It wasn't a command, but Gretel blinked away, probably to fetch someone to help. She didn't care who it was that Gretel brought. Someone, anyone would be good.

Tony blinked into the cabin with Gretel in his arms. “Darcy...? Shit. Barnes! Bucky wake up.”

“Tony please....” Darcy begged. It took every bit of self-control she had not to crawl under something and put her hands over her ears.

“I'm trying, kid,” Tony told her. He kept trying to reach out for Bucky, but Bucky kept pushing his touches away, forcefully enough that Tony was going to be covered in bruises. “We need someone stronger to hold him down.” Tony turned to Gretel and commanded, “Fuzzball. Get Steve.”

As Gretel hopped away he clarified, “This world's Steve.”

“Watch that dimension-hopping hairball will bring back the wrong Steve,” he mumbled under his breath as he activated one of his Iron Man gauntlets and aimed at Bucky who was no longer screaming but was writhing and moaning in obvious distress.

“What are you doing!” Darcy yelled.

“Waking him up!”

“Not with that!”

“There are multiple settings, kid. I promise. The phaser is set to stun.”

Darcy grabbed Tony's arm and pulled it down. “He's already unconscious Tony. That's the problem!”

“Let me try, at least!”

They were saved by the argument by Steve who popped in with Gretel in his arms, “I hate traveling like this.”

“Steve, help him!” She pointed frantically at Bucky.

* * *

Bucky

_There was pain. _

_They sliced open his flesh._

_Broke his bones._

_And someone was yelling, “Bucky wake up.”_

_Electric shocks._

_Cold._

_And his own mind was screaming, “Bucky, wake up!”_

_Beatings._

_Injections._

_Then there was Howard Stark, standing in front of him, yelling. “Damn it, Barnes, you're scaring us. Wake up!”_

_He held up a laser gun, like one of the ones from his pulp fiction stories and shot Bucky in the chest. A warm, safe feeling spread throughout his body._

* * *

  
  


Tony

After Barnes had socked Steve right in the jaw, Tony took matters into his own hands. He sent a pulse of energy from his gauntlet right into Bucky's chest. His friend's eyes started to flutter open and with a voice that was raspy from screaming he asked, “Howard?”

“No, pal. It's Tony. Do you remember me? Tony?”

“I'm sorry. I don't....” His face fell and a dawning realization of horror passed over his features. “Howard. I...”

“Don't,” Tony stopped him with a touch on his arm. Predictably, Barnes flinched at the touch but Tony didn't stop. He pressed his palm into Bucky's shoulder and squeezed with his fingers. “You weren't responsible for that. It wasn't really you.”

Barnes sat up on the couch and dropped his face into his hands. “I remember killing them... God...”

“They hijacked your mind, Barnes. It wasn't you.”

“Tony...” The resemblance must have been obvious. “Tony Stark. I killed your parents.”

“Buck...” Steve began.

Tony held up his hand to stop Steve. “You didn't have a choice, Barnes. Do you remember Howard?”

“I'm...yes...”

“Did you _want_ to kill him?”

“No. I didn't want to kill anyone.” Bucky looked up at Tony with sad, guilty eyes.

Tony felt his heart sink into his gut. He fought that feeling with a flippant, “My point exactly, you lacked the requisite intent.”

“Seriously?” Steve cocked his eyebrow at the phrase.

“What?” Tony shrugged. “Ignore the Star-Spangled doofus. You and I are good, Barnes. HYDRA messed with your head. Made you do things you had no control over.”

“You couldn't have come to this realization in Siberia?”

“Shut it, Steve,” Darcy instructed, placing an ice pack against his jaw, probably more forcefully than she should have.

“I hadn't had Lewis browbeating me into submission yet. Plus, there was that thing with Pep.” Tony turned back to Bucky, “You remember her? Pepper? Yay high, whip-thin, strawberry blonde hair, won't let anyone have any fun?”

“No. I'm sorry.”

Tony put his hand on the back of his friend's neck and pulled him a little closer to tell him with as much sincerity as Tony could muster, “You're forgiven, Barnes. For everything. If you start to remember things I said or did that imply that I don't forgive you... I'm sorry. I actually owe you everything. So...we're good. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Ohana means family.”

Steve added, “Family means no one gets left behind.”

Bucky looked puzzled.

“Seriously Lewis?” Tony mock-scolded, “He can't remember Lilo and Stitch? This cannot stand. No one gets left behind or forgotten.”

Steve took a half step towards Barnes. “Do you remember me, Buck?”

“Yeah. You're the Star-Spangled Doofus.”

Tony patted Bucky on the back and rose off the couch.

Bucky corrected with a smile, “Steve. You're my friend Steve.”

Meanwhile, Tony tucked Darcy under his arm and gave her a hug and murmured, “He's coming back to us.”

She nodded and smiled but was clearly too worked up to say anything. He'd seen Pepper upset like this before. She couldn't respond, or she would either yell or sob. She wiped the tears off of her face.

“Good tears?” Barnes asked softly.

“Scared tears,” Darcy choked out a response.

“I'm sorry.”

“Stop apologizing,” she whispered.

“I forgot.”

Tony felt like he was interrupting something personal between Darcy and Barnes. Steve must have been uncomfortable too, because he changed the conversation to, “Buck, what do you remember?”

Barnes sighed, peeling his eyes off of Darcy to answer, “My ma. Becca. Growing up. You being a colossal pain in the ass.”

“You remember the war?”

“Yeah. Peg. Dum Dum. Yeah.” Barnes nodded, “I remember.”

“What else?” Steve prompted.

“I don't... nothing. Nothing after I fell.”

Barnes looked twitchy so Tony admonished, “Cap, don't push.” When Barnes looked up at him with a grateful nod, Tony added, “He can be pushy.”

“I brought him back before,” Steve argued.

“He ran away before,” Tony reminded him.

“I already did that. I already ran away. I'm sorry.” And then Barnes apologized for apologizing. “Sorry.”

Tony gave Darcy a little squeeze and offered her a reprieve. “Come on Kid, let's take a walk.”

* * *

Darcy

Darcy melted into Tony's arms as soon as they got outside, sobbing into his chest. “I was scared,” she admitted.

“Me too, kid. Come on, let's get farther out so the super soldiers don't hear you cry. Wouldn't want them to know you aren't actually a superwoman.”

“I feel like anything but a superwoman. It's been less than a day and I've already had like ten breakdowns.”

“I have a feeling you're exaggerating that number a bit.”

“Want to bet?”

“No one blames you for feeling overwhelmed. When you first met Barnes he was already in a good place. Had friends. Had a purpose. You didn't know him when he was in lost killer puppy mode.”

“Killer puppy?”

“I stand by my assessment.” He kissed the top of her head. “Anything I can do? Want to see if Gretel could take us to the world where there is only shrimp?”

“How about Kitson?”

“I heard about you getting trippy at that place. Probably wouldn't be the healthiest place for yours truly to hang out.”

“Probably not.” Darcy stopped walking when she realized, “God, I didn't even ask about everyone else. What is wrong with me?”

“Everyone is fine.”

“Seriously?”

“Everyone is en route to the Tower or is already there.”

“I didn't even think about everyone else. You must think I'm so selfish.”

“Yes. You're a terrible person,” he teased.

“Everyone is really fine? Really?” She asked, not believing it could be true after last night.

“Would I lie?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I'm not.”

They were interrupted by Steve, standing in the doorway with Gretel in his arms, “Hey Tony? You ready to head back to the Tower? Everyone should be landing soon.”

“Yeah. Want to count each of the spider-kids fingers and toes. Make sure they're all intact.”

Tony handed her a device out of his pocket, “Listen, kid. Keep this panic button on you. I don’t think HYDRA can find this safe house but they really want Barnes. Keep him safe.”

“You know I will,” she turned the device in her hands and then tucked it into her bra.

Bucky was hovering behind Steve so Tony called out, “Barnes, get better soon.”

“Thanks again,” Darcy told him.

“Anytime. I mean that.” He went up to Steve and grabbed his shoulder. “Take us home, Demon Fuzzball.”

With that, Gretel blinked them both away.

As she slid by Bucky to re-enter the house, he gently reprimanded, “You said I was supposed to keep _you_ safe...”

“I never said it wasn’t going to work both ways.”

* * *

“I remember seeing Snow White with Becca. It was...magic. But this one...” Bucky smiled at Darcy. “It was incredible.”

“It's adorable how much you like the Princess movies,” Darcy teased, putting the Beauty and the Beast DVD back in its case. Natasha had a rather extensive DVD collection in the safehouse. Probably because she knew she'd have to hole up for a long period of time.

“What about the movie that Tony was talking about?” Bucky asked, going through the titles to pick out their next selection.

“Lilo and Stitch? It's about an alien assassin who disguises himself as a dog and becomes part of a family. It might hit a little too close to home.”

“I don't see it anyway. How about this one?” He held up the Little Mermaid.

“I swear, you and your Princess movies,” she teased.

“You pick one, then.”

“The 101 Dalmatians. Easily my favorite. The collie is totally the best part.”

* * *

She'd gone to bed hours ago, but she could still hear the television in the next room. She'd already listened to the entirety of the Rescuers and now Bucky was halfway through The Rescuers Down Under. It was time to say something. Darcy left the warmth of the bed and strode across the living room, sitting down next to Bucky on the couch, “You need to get some rest.”

He shook his head but didn't tear his eyes from the TV screen.

“I know what you're gonna say. 'You need to be awake when I'm asleep to monitor for threats. Yada yada.' We're safe here. It's Natasha's safe house. And I don't know if you remember what that means but trust me. We're safe. And... now that you know what Gretel can do, you know we can leave in an instant.”

“It's not that.. it's...” He paused for a very long time before he admitted, “I don't want to sleep again.”

“I don't think that's something that can be avoided. Even super soldiers have to sleep.”

“I lied before. I didn't want to tell Steve. I dreamed of...I remembered...the things they did to me between missions. I don't want to dream of them again.”

“What else do you remember?”

“Washington. Pulling Steve out of the water. Nothing after that.” He sighed. “Are you sure I have good memories?”

“I'm sure. And hey, we made some tonight. Disney movie marathon. Good times.”

This earned her an exhale that may have been the beginnings of a laugh.

She put his hand over his and made her own admission, “I screwed up earlier. I let the nightmare get too far. But I can help you get through them. If you'll let me.”

“Please.”

Darcy led him to the bedroom and gestured toward the bed. “Under the covers, mister. I'll stay up and keep an eye on you.”

“I can't ask you to..”

“You didn't ask. I offered. Head on the pillow, close your eyes and get some rest. I'll wake you right away if I think you're having a bad dream. Okay?” She climbed back under the covers herself and sat against the headboard. She picked up her copy of Persuasion and started reading again. 'Argument over,' she thought to herself.

He complied with her instructions, laying down next to her. Gretel, who returned right after dropping off Tony and Steve, settled into her customary place at his side. But he stubbornly didn't close his eyes. After six pages of Anne Elliot pining for Captain Wentworth, Bucky asked, “Miss Lewis? In my memories...” he held up his left hand. “Why is my arm different?”

She closed the book, scooted down in the bed and rested her head on the pillow, turning her body to face his. “Because some very smart people who love you very much wanted you to put the past behind you.”

“It's a good memory?” he asked.

“I think so.”

“I'd like a good memory.”

“We'll get there. I don't know why your brain is rebooting itself the way that it is, but I know that there are good memories in there. It's not all pain and death and the Great Depression and war. I promise.”

“Tell me one. Tell me about a good memory.”

“I don't know if I should. Shouldn't we see if they come back on their own?”

“I don't know. I've never done this before. Or I guess I have,” he grinned at her.

Darcy chuckled.

“Let's try. Please? One good memory. Something small. Maybe something about Gretel.”

“Well. You were gonna get a dog. That's why we were at the shelter. You told the adoption counselor that you wanted something that wasn't 'yippy' and instead of showing you a dog she took you to Gretel. Her name was Grumpus at the shelter.”

“That's a terrible name.”

“Apparently she didn't like anyone until you came along. But she liked you. She gave you head butts and purred and carried on. At first, you were like, 'I wanted a dog'. But you played with puppies and looked at some of the big dogs and then you told the counselor that you wanted to see Gretel again. She put you in a little room with her, so she wasn't in a cage. You sat back on the bench with your arms crossed, looking all stern and grumpy. I think you were trying to convince yourself that you didn't want her. Then she crawled up onto your folded arms and started purring. And you relaxed. You just sat there and held her. And you smiled and looked up at the counselor and me. You were in love with her. Right then and there. You fell in love with that little demon of a cat. And she loved you too.”

“I guess I must not be that much of a monster. If she loves me.”

“You're not a monster. A lot of people love you.”

“Thank you, Miss Lewis. For the memory. It was nice.”

“Did it spark anything?”

“No. But it was really nice. Can I ask you something else?”

“Sure.”

“That song. The one I played on the piano. Why did it make you cry?”

“I've danced to it a few times with...my husband,” she waited breathlessly for a response. Unrealistically, she hoped he would suddenly remember her and their lives together. But of course, that didn't happen.

He responded with a quiet, “Oh. What would your husband say about you sharing a bed with me?

“I promise he'd be one thousand percent in support of me helping you.”

“I should probably get some sleep.”

“I'll keep watch over you. I promise.”

He turned so his back was to her and said quietly, “Thank you, Ms. Lewis.”

  
  


  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Your Song by Elton John


	12. Wondering Where I Am, Lost Without You

Sam

“We gonna talk about it?” Sam asked.

They were sitting alone in the empty conference room, waiting for the others to arrive.

“Here?” Daisy protested. “Now?”

“We haven't talked about it yet. Not when we were on Earth 65. Not since we got back.”

“Well...inter-dimensional traveling is hard on the body. We've been asleep...mostly.”

“And the rest of the time, we've avoided it.” He paused for a minute and then dove right in headfirst. “I saw Riley. I saw him die when Robbie did whatever he did to me. I don't know why he made me relive it, but that's what I saw.”

“It's called a penance stare. The Ghost Rider makes you relive the deaths that you caused.”

“But I didn't...” Sam frowned.

“Do you blame yourself?”

“Yeah. I should've been faster, or smarter. Better. But I wasn't.”

Sam couldn't help but notice that Daisy was holding her hands in her lap, picking at her cuticles. She hadn't touched him voluntarily since the incident at the mansion.

“It wasn't your fault, Sam.”

“Lincoln wasn't your fault either.”

She looked up at him with those big brown eyes of hers. Big tears that hadn't fallen yet made them look even bigger. He repeated, “Baby girl, it wasn't your fault.”

“We shouldn't have... I'm scared that...”

Daisy didn't finish either sentence. She didn't need to. Sam knew that she almost said that they shouldn't have gotten together because she was afraid of losing him the way that she lost Lincoln.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “Maybe we...”

“Don't finish that sentence,” he said quietly. “Don't run away from us because you're scared, Daze. You want to end us because you don't love me anymore? I can live with that. It'd break my damned heart but I can live with it. But don't end this because you're afraid.”

Rhodes entered the room, ending their conversation.

“Not now, Sam,” Daisy whispered.

  
  


Natasha

“How's Darcy?” Natasha asked Steve as soon as she saw him in the hall outside the conference room.

“Um. Okay, I think.” Steve then brightened, “Bucky's getting better though. He remembered growing up together. Remembered the Howlies. Yeah.” He nodded, “He's doing good.”

“And how's _Darcy_?” she repeated.

“She's feeling a little lost,” Tony answered. “Bucky's memories are coming back fast, but he still doesn't remember _her_, so...”

“She can handle it,” Natasha said, more to convince herself than for any other reason.

“At least Barnes trusts her,” Tony added. “Or at least he seems to. She'll bring him back. I'm sure of it. Even if _she's_ not so sure. Two strangers learn to fall in love again.”

“Did you just quote Journey?” she asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

“I did.”

“You just quoted a _power ballad_ by _Journey_.”

“One cannot live on Black Sabbath and AC/DC alone, Romanoff.”

Cap shook his head and complained, “I swear I still don't understand the two of you half the time.”

“Well, Cap. Don't Stop Believing.” He directed Steve toward the conference room with a pat on the back.

Nat let out a little laugh. “You didn't just say that. Come on. Let's get this briefing started.”

“Are Tony and I the last to arrive?” Steve looked into the full conference room. “I guess so.”

  
  


Peter

Peter never knew what to expect from a briefing meeting. Sometimes they were wild and raucous, full of laughter. Sometimes they were sedate and professional. This briefing started out depressing and then got worse.

First, Kate explained that her sister was sick and needed a bone marrow transplant. Kate had her blood drawn that morning but the results may not come in for weeks. Even though they were sisters they may not be a match.

Then Miles did a quick sketch of the image that was on the computer screen in the HYDRA compound.

Gwen nodded, “Yeah. That's him. He was giving the orders.”

“How?” Steve choked out. “We blew up the computers.”

“Escaped through the internet, probably,” Tony sighed.

“Who is this guy? He looks like a bug,” Peter asked.

“Zola,” was Steve's one-word response.

“As in...Agent Barnes's Zola? The guy who experimented on him? He's like...dead.”

“Escaped through the internet,” Tony repeated.

“Does Agent Barnes know?” May asked quietly.

“Barnes doesn't even know he's Barnes,” Natasha sighed.

May asked, “Steve, how much memory loss are we talking about? Is Barnes going to come back to us?”

“He knows me. He remembers his childhood, the war.”

Tony added, “He remembers the Winter Soldier's missions. Probably remembers the torture.”

“He didn't say that...” Steve argued.

“He didn't have to. You saw that nightmare. He looked like he was in that damned torture chair. And now Zola's had another one built. Using it on our kids.”

“At least it didn't work,” Miles offered. “We remembered who we were. He couldn't brainwash us.”

Gwen told Miles quietly, “You were in the chair once. Bucky was in it hundreds of times.”

Miles visibly shuddered at the thought.

“So, Zola is still online,” Sam backtracked, “Who is acting as his arms and legs?”

“We didn't see anyone but soldiers,” Gwen told him. “But the guy on the plane that HYDRA shot down? He said he was taking us to Norman Osborn.”

“Osborn, an actual walking, talking ethical quagmire,” Tony mumbled.

“Osborn may be able to give us some insight into HYDRA,” Nat speculated. “But our undercover team is literally undercover.”

Hope looked over at Nat, “We could go in. You and I.”

It was Shuri who spoke up next, “I have a plan.”

Before she even took a breath, T'Challa growled, “No.”

“Brother... I haven't even...”

T'Challa turned to Shuri and said stubbornly, “The answer is most likely no.”

Nakia put her hand on T'Challa's arm and asked Shuri, “Tell us your plan.”

“I apply to Oscorp as an intern.”

“No.”

“You want to go in undercover,” Peter nodded approvingly. “But what about me? I'm valuable to Oscorp too.”

Natasha shook her head, “You cannot go waltzing up to the front door, Peter. It's implausible.”

“Neither can Shuri. He has to know who she is,” Peter argued back.

“I just present myself with poorly forged documents. I can play it up like I am a rogue scientist that has been held back by my stick-in-the-mud brother's rules.” With this speech, she leaned over and bumped her shoulder against her brother's.

Natasha started, “If they know who you are then...”

“...they cannot possibly turn me down,” Shuri finished.

“No.”

Nakia soothed, “It's a good plan, T'Challa.”

“Please, brother.”

“I'll totally be her back up,” Peter promised, “I won't let her out of my sight, I swear.”

“I'll be her back up,” Hope offered. “I know my way around a lab.”

Peter opened his mouth to protest but Hope finished, “And, Oscorp isn't looking for me.”

T'Challa put his head in his hands and lamented, “Mother is going to kill me. Barnes is going to kill me. Oh... Barnes is going to kill me.”

The rest of the meeting went quickly. As they filed out, Mr. Stark stopped them, “Kids, wait up got something for you.”

He handed two boxes out, one to Gwen and one to Miles. It was Gwen who knew, “Our uniforms?”

“Welcome to the team. You've proven you can handle HYDRA, so you can handle anything.”

Miles pulled out a mostly black suit with red fingers and a red spider in the middle of the chest. Mr. Stark explained, “I uh, adapted that from one of your sketches. I hope that's ok.”

“It's more than ok.” Miles held the suit against his body, “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

Gwen's was also black, but with a white hood lined with hot pink and turquoise ballet flats. On the inside of the hood, there was a little bit of embroidery. “GS? Please tell me that it doesn't stand for GirlSpider.”

“Ghost Spider. You like?”

“I like.”

“And what's my name?” Miles asked.

“Your name is Miles. Did you knock out some brain cells with that blast-o power?” Mr. Stark teased.

“My _code_ name.”

“Spiderman.”

Peter frowned for the first time since the meeting ended, “But..._I'm_ Spiderman.”

“So,” Mr. Stark shrugged, “We have two Hawkeyes.”

“Won't that get confusing?” Peter protested.

“Yeah,” Mr. Stark scoffed, “Like we actually _use_ our code names. Tell you what. I'll give you twenty bucks if you can tell me Wanda's code name.”

Gwen answered, “The Scarlet Witch.”

Mr. Stark turned to her and challenged, “Pietro.”

“Quicksilver”

“Oh, you wanna play, Gwennie? Bobbie Morse.”

“Mockingbird.”

Peter and Miles watched the back and forth like a ping pong match.

“Hunter.”

“Trick question. He doesn't have one.”

“Wrong! Hunter's code name is Hunter.”

Gwen crossed her arms, “I call bullshit.”

“Language,” He tsked, “Here. Here's a hundred. Take these yahoos out for pizza.”

Darcy

Darcy found Bucky sitting on the dock, staring out at the Lake. “Hey, you okay?” He'd been cold and distant all morning. He was back to pulling away when she touched him. She wished she knew if she had caused the change or if he remembered something else.

Bucky shook his head, “I can't stop seeing them. The people I killed. Those things I did...”

She sat down next to him and fought the urge to rest her head on his shoulder like she usually did. She couldn't even take his hand, he had them shoved in his jacket pocket. “Those things were done _to you_. You are only remembering the bad stuff. You’ve done so much good. Saved so many people...”

His voice was quiet but firm, “I think you’re wrong. I don’t think I can be redeemed.”

“You already have been.”

He just shook his head again.

“You're a good man, Bucky.”

“You don’t know that,” he replied, his eyes fixed on the water.

Darcy wanted to shake him, “But I do! You’re the one that doesn’t know. Can’t you trust me? Please trust me.”

He didn't even sigh. He just said mechanically, “I think it would be best if we went to...wherever Steve is.”

“The Tower? But you haven't got your memories back yet.”

“Probably best that I'm with Steve. I could've hurt you yesterday. During that nightmare.”

“You didn't, though.”

He stood and walked away, without even offering her a hand to help her stand, “I've burdened you enough, Ms. Lewis.”

“You're not a burden,” she argued, scrambling to her feet to follow him.

“I can be useful,” he told her, at least he had politely slowed his stride so she could catch up, “Even without my memories. I know how to fight. I can help. I _need_ to help. I need to do something. Besides, you probably need to get back to Mr. Stark.”

“He can wait.”

“He doesn't need to.” He held the door open for her and glanced around. When he saw Gretel, he scooped her up and told Darcy, “Let's get you home.”

“If you're sure...”

“I'm sure.”

Bucky

Bucky was unprepared when he entered the large common area in the Tower and a breathless young woman threw herself at him while gleefully shouting, “Brother!”

He watched as Gretel skittered, away, thoroughly offended, and felt Ms. Lewis's hand leave his arm. To the young woman, he offered, “Um. Hi?”

“You don't know me, do you?” She was still beaming.

“I'm sorry. I don't.”

“Shuri of Wakanda” She stuck out her hand and shook Bucky's vigorously. “It is nice to make your acquaintance for the second time, Sergeant Barnes.”

“Bucky,” he corrected.

“Yes of course, how could I forget?”

Bucky was distracted by Sam Wilson, who was currently giving a warm embrace to Ms. Lewis. Wilson turned to Bucky and asked, “I am going to guess you don't remember me, either.”

“I do. I tried to kill you. Twice.”

“Well, you failed. So we're good. You still owe me a car, though, Buck.”

“Do you remember me, James?” another man asked. This one had a regal bearing and an exotic accent.

“I'm sorry, no.”

“He tried to kill you,” Sam offered with a great big grin.

“Well, you get a second chance to make a first impression, T'Challa,” the woman at his side teased.

With affection, T'Challa said to her, “Hush, you.”

“I am Nakia,” she held out her hand to shake.

Bucky let the words slip out of his mouth before thinking, “Wow. You're beautiful.”

Nakia smiled wider and told T'Challa, “I forgot how much I like him.”

Ms. Lewis had seemed sad ever since he had decided to leave the safe house. His attitude probably hadn't helped. But he was getting too attached to her. She belonged to someone else. To a husband that was waiting for her. Her voice was dull and soft when she told him, “I'll let Steve know you're here.”

“Thank you, Ms. Lewis,” he said to her retreating form. Wilson followed her down the hall.

“Did you just call her Ms. Lewis?” Shuri's face was screwed up in a puzzled scowl.

“That is her name, isn't it? Or is it Mrs. Stark?”

Shuri's eyes widened and then she spit out a laugh. She laughed so hard that she flopped to the floor, seemingly lost in her own hysterics. “She's Mrs. Stark? Oh, that's too funny.”

“It's not nice to make fun of amnesiacs,” another young woman approached and wrapped her arms around his neck. “And I just realized I'm groping an amnesiac.”

He chuckled at the woman who was still hugging him. “I'm guessing we know each other?”

“Yep. I'm Kate.”

“Nice to meet you, Kate.”

The girl was still hugging him. “Don't scare me like that again, Bucky Bear. Fucking traumatizing.”

“I'll do my best.” He gave her an awkward pat on the back and she disentangled.

“Do better than your best.” She searched his face and then frowned, “Nothing? You don't remember me even a little?”

“I'm sorry.”

“It's all right, you went through some shit. You'll remember me and then you'll be like, 'How could I have forgotten Kate?'”

“Buck?” Steve called out. “Come on, jerk. Natasha's ordering pizza.”

He waved goodbye to the people who were once his friends and followed Steve down the hall. On the way, he saw Ms. Lewis and Sam Wilson enter an apartment together. So that was why Shuri thought the idea of Ms. Lewis being married to Stark was so funny. She was with Wilson.

* * *

“You okay Buck?”

“Yeah. Thanks again for letting me stay here. Ms. Lewis didn't think I should be alone.” He clarified, “Because of the nightmares.”

“We've both crashed on each others' couches before, Buck. It's not a problem.”

Natasha Romanoff, who was apparently Stevie's fiancee, entered the apartment and dropped two boxes of pizzas on the counter. “I'm gonna go check on Darcy. Save me a slice. I mean it.”

“Darcy?” Bucky asked. The name felt like it tickled his brain.

“Ms. Lewis,” Steve clarified.

“She never told me her name.” He picked up a photo off the bookshelf. In it, Steve, Bucky, and Sam were smiling at the camera, each of them was holding beers. In the background, he could see Natasha and Darcy laughing. In another, Steve and Nat were kissing and she was showing off a ring. He and Sam, plus Darcy and another woman were imitating the pose. It was a ridiculous picture, with Sam planting an obnoxious looking kiss on Bucky's cheek while Bucky held out his hand. The girls' attempt at the pose failed, both were laughing too hard.

“She probably was hoping you'd remember on your own.”

“We all look pretty happy,” he remarked as he picked up another picture. This one was of Darcy, Sam, and Steve, all asleep on the couch. Bucky was putting globs of what appeared to be whipped cream on their noses. He wondered who was taking the picture, Natasha or the brunette in the last photo?

“I think we are happy.”

“I'm really friends with Sam Wilson?”

“Sometimes I think he's your best friend. Besides me, of course.”

“Of course.”

Natasha

It turned out that checking on Darcy was a very good idea. She wasn't dealing with things as well as Natasha hoped she would. Then again, she was a civilian. And Kate was young. Sam, however, had no excuse for his current state, which was, in a word, hammered.

“Are you going to be all right, Darcy?”

Darcy slurred, “I'm fucking fantastic, Nat. Shit. Language. Sorry.”

Sam took a swig and complained, “He doesn't remember ANY of us.”

“He remembers you,” Darcy argued.

“He remembers kicking me off a hellicarrier. That doesn't count!”

Kate was flopped on her back in the middle of the floor. “At least he remembers you exist.”

Nat shook her head, “You guys aren't handling this very well.”

“Psssh,” Kate responded, “We're handling this fine.”

Darcy threw a throw pillow at Sam. “You're drinking all the Fireball.”

“So?”

“So. It's mine. Give it.”

Nat rolled her eyes, “Sam? Where's Daisy?”

“Daisy is being all twitchy. She wants to be alone.” He drew out the last word as if Daisy were Greta Garbo.

Darcy took another swig herself and told Nat, “Sam's gonna sleep on my couch tonight. It's not like I'm sharing the apartment with anyone. Might as well.”

“How long ago was it that we were playing football on the beach?” Kate asked.

Darcy scowled at her. “The whole West Coast Avengers thing was an epic disaster. I blame you, Katie-Kate.”

“Wasn't my idea...”

Sam threw the pillow at her and mocked, “We should have a team in California. It's sunny. There's a beach. And oh yeah, there's a dude that turns into a demon who steals memories, destroys homes and wrecks relationships.”

“It's not Robbie's fault.”

Sam took another pillow off the couch and threw that one at her too.

Darcy looked up at Nat and asked, “What if he never remembers me?”

Nat sighed and sat down between Sam and Darcy on the couch. She put her arm around Darcy and pulled her in close. “As Steve Perry sang once, in all his wisdom, you'll get the joy of rediscovering each other.”

Sam started humming then sang, “Oh girl...you stand... by me... I'm forever yours....faithfully.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title, and a bit of dialogue, from Faithfully by Journey


	13. You've Stolen My Love, You Now Desert Me

Six weeks later

Bucky

Bucky kept busy. That was the best way to keep her off his mind. Mission after mission.

The teams that they had previously established had been blown to hell. If there was a mission, he was going. That was unless Sam was going to. He steadfastly avoided accompanying Sam on missions. He couldn't look the man in the eye, not when he was dreaming of Sam's wife every damned night.

He wasn't the only one reeling. Something had happened to Agent Johnson, whom Bucky couldn't remember and only saw a few times in passing. It had something to do with Robbie Reyes, whom he knew was the reason for his amnesia but he didn't know the details. He just knew that Daisy Johnson was feeling pretty shitty, and she'd rather be in the computer lab than on a mission.

Kate was recovering from her bone marrow donation and spending time with her sister, who was fighting cancer. When she wasn't with her family, she was with Reyes and Strange and Banner, trying to teach the kid to control his powers before he hurt anyone else.

So now he and Steve were hovering in the quinjet above a suspected HYDRA base with Tony Stark, while Gwen and Miles were running reconnaissance.

“Miles Morales, what the hell do you think you're doing?” Stark scolded over the communicator.

“Um, Spidermanning?” Miles's voice answered through the communicator.

“I worked very hard on that suit, young man. And you're wearing shorts, shoes, and a hoodie over it.”

“I'm...undercover?”

“Nice try, no dice.”

“Maybe, I'm not super comfortable in the suit yet,” Miles admitted,

“And what's wrong with the suit?”

“It's a little... skin tight.... and I'm fifteen...and I work with people like Agent Barnes and Captain America.”

Bucky laughed out loud, “You ever see pictures of Stevie at fifteen? Trust me, kid, you ain't got nothin' to be ashamed of.

Steve let out a sarcastic, “Thanks, Buck.”

“Just telling it like it is, Stevie.”

Tony turned his attention back to the mission, “Gwennie? Whatcha see?”

“I think we have an active base, gentlemen. Should we take it down?”

“I think we should. And Miles, do me a favor: go invisible so I don't have to see what you've done to my suit.”

* * *

  
  


Bucky couldn't help but smile at the enthusiasm of the two spiders as they landed the jet on the roof of the Tower. They practically bounced into the common room, chattering the whole way.

“Best. Summer. Vacation. Ever.”

“I can't believe our parents are letting us be superheroes all summer long. It's the best.”

“And we get to hang out at Avengers Tower. And use the pool, and the tennis courts, and the computers.”

Dr. Simmons met them in the common room, she didn't look up from her tablet but instructed, “Miles, I need you to come up to the lab, there was an anomaly in your biometrics.”

“Yes, Dr. Simmons.”

“Gwen,” Fitz bounded over, “I think I've improved the web-shooters response time by 3 microseconds. Can you please come up to my lab?”

“Yes, Dr. Fitz”

May popped her head into the room and said tersely, “Mr. Morales, Ms. Stacy. I expect a full report before the debriefing this evening.”

“Yes, Agent May.”

Daisy poked her head in from a different door, “Hey kids, I need you to go over everything you did when you deployed that virus. Some of the numbers aren't adding up.”

“Yes, Agent Johnson.”

Steve patted Miles on the back, hard enough that he stumbled forward and demanded, “Morales, Stacy, calisthenics in the gym in five minutes. Your reaction times need improvement.”

Pepper got off the elevator and headed to Tony. As she walked she informed them, “Hey kids, your parents will be here in thirty minutes for dinner. Don't be late.”

“We've made a terrible mistake,” Gwen said quietly.

“How can we be five places at once?”

“Welcome to the Avengers,” Bucky teased. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Darcy and Sam sitting on one of the sofas, sharing a pint of ice cream.

“Hey Buck,” Sam brightened and smiled, “Welcome back.”

He smiled back at Sam politely but cast his eyes down and away from Darcy.

“Thanks, Sam, Ms. Lewis.”

“Mission go well?” Sam asked.

“Captured some HYDRA soldiers, but Zola disappeared before we got Daisy's virus deployed. We'll get him.”

Barton, Piper, and Davis came through the room in full gear. Clint called out as he walked by, “Hey Barnes. Illegal weapons dealer in Mexico City. You in?”

“Be right there, Clint.”

“But...” Darcy protested. “You just got back.”

He shrugged, “Super soldier serum has to be good for something, right?”

“Buck...” Sam protested. One time he'd gotten Bucky alone and told him he was burning the candle at both ends. Bucky brushed him off and got out of the room as soon as possible. Steve kept telling Bucky that he and Sam were friends. But what kind of person fantasized about his friend's wife? Bucky hated himself every time he saw them.

“I'm fine, Sam. I'm good.”

“Barnes? You still coming?” Piper asked.

“On my way. See ya.”

“Bye,” Darcy said quietly

Bucky tried to get the sound of her voice out of his head as he walked away.

* * *

  
  


Steve

Steve dropped his gear just inside the door with a thunk.

Natasha, who was rummaging through the freezer, turned and smiled. She looked around and then asked, “Where's Bucky?”

“Gone after an arms dealer in Mexico with Clint and Rhodes.” Steve sat down hard on a stool at the breakfast counter.

“This is ridiculous. You know that, right?” She asked, retrieving two spoons from a drawer.

“I know, Nat.”

She opened the container and stabbed the two spoons into the ice cream. “He's been sleeping on our couch for six weeks. And I can't even complain about it, because he's never actually here.”

“I know, Nat.” He dug into the ice cream. Nat always bought Neopolitan. She ate the strawberry. He ate the vanilla. Before everything went wrong, Bucky and Darcy used to eat the chocolate. Now it sat there, untouched.

“We should tell him.” She sighed with her mouth full of strawberry ice cream.

“I know.”

“He's clearly still completely in love with her, even if he doesn't know who she is.”

“I know.”

“And she's utterly miserable.” She was swinging the spoon around, using it as an extension of her hands. “And she's being stubborn and stupid.”

“Nat. I know.”

“I hate this.”

“I do too.” The vanilla ice cream suddenly didn't taste very good. Steve took a spoonful of Nat's strawberry. He expected her to do something to stop him. But she just took another bite herself.

“He remember anything new?”

“Nope. He's gotten everything back up until Thanos, and then nothing.”

“Do you think it's because of the Soul Stone? Like the fact that he has a double set of memories is causing a glitch in the system or something?”

“I don't know. I figured it was just Bucky being a masochist. Like his brain is punishing itself by refusing to remember the good stuff. You try reasoning with Darcy lately?”

“Same old same old. She doesn't want to pressure him. She doesn't want him to feel obligated. Idiots.”

“Sam still sleeping on her couch?” Steve asked.

“He doesn't want to pressure Daisy.”

“Idiots. Our friends are all idiots.”

* * *

Kate

“You're getting flamey, Robbie,” Gabe warned over the intercom.

“Remember your breathing,” Bruce advised sagely from his seat next to Gabe. They had Robbie in a Hulk-proof safe room. They sat on the other side of the glass, watching Robbie's training.

“You're becoming agitated,” Dr. Strange warned.

“Of course I'm getting agitated!” Robbie yelled at the Sorcerer. “You're hitting me with a whip!”

“It's a mystical whip,” Strange corrected. “It's not like it's gonna leave a mark.”

“There he blows,” Gabe warned as Robbie went into full-blown Ghost Rider mode.

“Robbie,” Bruce advised, “Calm yourself. Remember your breathing.”

In response, the Ghost Rider conjured a flaming chain. He whipped it at Dr. Strange. “That's not good,” Strange muttered. “Ms. Bishop, if you please....”

And from her perch in the rafters, Kate shot a tranquilizer dart into Robbie.

“That didn't go well,” she remarked, as she gingerly climbed down to the floor.

“We'll try again when he wakes up,” Bruce called out over the intercom.

“Right, ninth times a charm,” Kate shrugged.

“He has been doing better,” Strange argued. “You should have let me get you down, dear. How are you feeling?”

She rubbed her hip, where they had taken her bone marrow for donation two weeks ago. It still hurt a little. “Sore. But not bad.”

“Did you request that your marrow be entered in the registry?”

“Yes. Superheroes come in all shapes and sizes, right doc?”

“How is your sister?” Strange asked kindly.

“Considering she's got cancer?”

“Yeah, considering that.”

“The doctors are optimistic.” Kate shrugged. “I suck. I've been a crappy sister. I didn't even know...”

“Considering your family history, I wouldn't say that you suck.”

“Do you think my dad is going to be okay? Going undercover with HYDRA?” She knew logically that he was in very good hands. Rhodey was monitoring everything Derrick did, and Scott was literally on her dad's shoulder. But she had just re-established a relationship with him. And for the first time in her life, she was proud of him.

“I think he has some very smart, resourceful superheroes looking after him. He'll be fine.”

Robbie started to stir, and Strange noticed, “Ah. Mr. Reyes. You ready for round nine?”

“Stop shooting me Kate,” he grumbled.

“Stop being a poor man's Johnny Storm and I'll stop shooting you.”

“You really are doing better with your control, Robbie,” Gabe called out over the intercom.

“Yeah. I can control my anger. Just not my extreme annoyance.”

Strange smirked at him and Kate let out a little laugh.

“I think that our friend Robbie is insinuating that I'm irritating, Agent Bishop.”

“I'm saying it outright. Let's go again,” Robbie was on his feet.

Strange made a mystical ring in front of Kate, with the exit up where she had been perched before.

“Ms. Bishop, up you go.”

“Remember your breathing, Robbie,” she said sagely, with a wink.

* * *

Bucky

Bucky fought to keep his eyes open. Sleep was no longer a friend. He kept dreaming of her. Of Darcy. He dreamed of a world where the sky was always colored like a sunset. The dreams were so warm. And soft. And more often than not, erotic. He'd seen her eyes sparkle with mirth, widen with surprise and close in ecstasy. He knew what her skin felt like under his hands. What she tasted like...

He preferred the nightmares.

The mission went well. Too well. It was too easy. They were already on their way back. Back to the Tower. Back to her.

His eyes drifted closed, the hum of the quinjet was lulling him to sleep.

_“_ _I will always want you,” She told him. _

_“What matters to me is here.” She kissed his forehead. “And here,” she put his hand over his heart. “And this freckle,” she teased, pointing to a freckle about a hands width below his left nipple._

“_Freckle?” he chuckled._

“_It's a very important freckle. Frankly, I'm surprised history books didn't mention this freckle. I could write a dissertation on this freckle.” As she spoke, she pressed his shoulder, guiding him to the ground. She flicked her tongue against that freckle and Bucky hissed. “Although this one is a good freckle too.” Another lick. “And this one...”_

_The silk of her hair against his skin made him shiver. The heat of her thighs pressed outside his hips... It was so good. So right..._

_His heart was bursting with love for her. And his body wanted her so desperately._

Bucky's eyes snapped open.

“You all right, man?” Clint asked.

“Yeah. I'm fine.”

“Nightmare?”

“Yeah. Nightmare.”

* * *

Darcy

“Are you done torturing him?” Darcy asked, stopping to kiss Gabe on the top of the head.

“It's not torture...” Bruce argued.

“Locked in a room with Stephen? That's torture.”

Darcy watched as Strange snapped a glowing, mystical whip at Robbie, over and over. Robbie closed his eyes and took several breaths in and out. After a few more snaps of the whip, Strange stopped and put his hand on his shoulder. “Good job, son.”

Darcy took the microphone from Banner and spoke into it, “Oatmeal raisin because they're good for you. Come get some sugar, my dears.”

Robbie practically raced out of the safe room and snatched the cookie from Darcy's outstretched hand. “You're an angel. An actual, literal angel.”

Darcy was pretty sure that Robbie thought she was utterly terrifying the first time she ran into him at the Tower after the incident in California.

“_Mrs. Barnes....” he came to a dead stop, seeing her there, just outside of Banner's safe room. She had been looking for him._

“_You took him from me.”_

“_I'm so sorry, I...”_

“_You took my husband from me. My soulmate. The love of my life.”_

_She let that sink in a minute. _

“_Are you doing what Dr. Strange and Bruce are asking?”_

“_Yes, ma'am.”_

“_Here's what I think, Robbie. I think you're a good man who got dealt a shitty hand, just like my husband. So you're going to do everything Stephen and Bruce say, and you're going to get control over your powers. Okay?”_

“_Okay.”_

“_What did you have for dinner last night?”_

“_Um... take out Chinese?”_

“_Unacceptable. Sam is making lasagna. Dinner is at six. Does Gabe like garlic bread or breadsticks?”_

“_Um...either.”_

“_Six PM, my apartment. Do not be late. And shave. Kate will be there.”_

“Oh my God, these cookies,” Robbie moaned.

“I didn't think I liked oatmeal raisin,” Gabe admitted. “But these are everything.”

Darcy smiled at the Reyes brothers, but she knew her smile was hollow. She wasn't fooling anyone, certainly not her eagle-eyed friend. Kate took Darcy by the elbow and directed her to the hall, for some privacy.

Kate appraised Darcy knowingly. “He ran off again, didn't he?”

“Weapons dealer in Mexico City.” Darcy put on a fake smile. “It's fine. He needs to help.”

“He needs a kick in his dumb ass.”

“It's not his fault, Katie. It just is what it is.” She had to change the subject before she started to cry. “Sam is making dinner. You coming?”

“At his place?” Kate asked sarcastically.

“You know where Sam is staying, Kate.”

“On your couch. Because he's also a dumb ass.”

“Daisy needs her space,” Darcy argued.

“You know what I think? I think space is overrated. I could have lost my sister before I got a chance to be in her life again. And because I'm in his life now, my dad has turned over a new leaf. He's putting his life in danger to spy on HYDRA for us. You're waiting for Bucky to remember the past instead of giving him a chance to fall back in love with you. Sam is giving Daisy space but what he needs to do is tell her that pushing him away because she's afraid of being alone is stupid. Space is stupid.”

Robbie came out of the door at that exact moment and Kate yelled, “Hey!”

He flinched a bit when she grabbed him by the shoulders and then he relaxed into her when she planted one hell of a kiss on his lips.

“I like you, Robbie,” she said when she pulled away. “And I think you like me. And I'm sick of wasting time.”

“Wasting time is bad,” he agreed.

As Darcy walked away from them she smiled, really smiled, for the first time in six weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title taken from Love of My Life by Queen


	14. Don't You Worry, You'll Find Yourself

Bucky

“Bucky Bear, wait up.” Agent Johnson was walking briskly towards him. “Do you have a minute?”

“Um. Yeah. Sure. What's up, Agent?”

“Daisy,” she corrected with an eye roll. She'd probably corrected him six or seven times at this point. Bucky felt bad about being so uncomfortable around her. But he couldn't remember anything about her. His memories had come back, right up to the defeat of Thanos. But there was nothing after that. And his meeting Daisy had come 'after that'. It was hard for Bucky to reconcile the stories he was told about Charlie team. That they were probably the closest as far as being friends. That they worked like a well-oiled machine. That they were champs of the last few prank wars.

He really just knew Sam as Steve's friend, Kate was the girl who killed Thanos, and Daisy was a complete stranger.

They all looked at him with expectations of friendship. And to Bucky, there wasn't really much of that there. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. But at least interactions with Daisy and Kate weren't accompanied by the enormous guilt he felt when he was around Sam.

“I pulled this from the security footage from the compound where they were holding Fitzsimmons and the kids. I've run it through every face recognition program we have. I even wrote a program and ran it through that. But sometimes, you need a set of human eyes. You know HYDRA better than anyone. Does this guy look familiar to you?”

She pulled up a fuzzy image of a man in a dark corner of the base.

“No. Not offhand.”

“Facial rec doesn't match him to any of our prisoners, either.”

“Someone got away,” he sighed.

“Someone got away,” she repeated. “I'll keep working the problem.”

Bucky took a good, long look at her. “When's the last time you got any sleep?”

“Look who's asking.”

“Seriously, doll.”

“Doll,” she scoffed. “I'm fine. Just...feeling a little lost. The past came back and bit me in the ass.”

“I understand that.”

She gave him a soft smile and agreed, “I guess you do.”

“We just have to keep moving forward, I guess. The past is the past. Can't change it.”

“You're always good with the advice, Bucky Bear.”

“I find that very hard to believe.”

“True story,” Daisy asserted. “You're a good listener.”

“That's just because I don't talk much.”

Daisy smiled at him. A real one.

  
  


Darcy

She loved baking in the common room. There was something about her friends popping in and out, dipping their fingers in the batter, dodging her swats and scolding. It was familiar and fun. It was a reminder that they were a family.

She knew it would be quieter today. Most of the team was focused on the impending op. But she still decided to bake in the common area. Tonight, the room would be full of laughter. They'd have Shuri out of Oscorp and they'd be celebrating a birthday. Everyone would be here except Bobbie's team. Maybe she'd get a chance to talk to Bucky. Maybe he'd remember...

When Bucky came through the common area, she gave a half-hearted wave. He was on the phone anyway, and she wouldn't have expected a response even if he hadn't been actively avoiding her for the last six weeks.

“All right, I'll be there.”

He pressed disconnect on the phone and Darcy asked, “You're leaving? We're extracting Shuri from Oscorp tonight. There's a party. You're not going to stay?”

“No, um Murdock wants some help with a drug cartel so...” he shrugged and turned his back to her.

Darcy let six weeks of frustration get the best of her. She slammed the mixing bowl she was holding to the ground in a huff. Immediately, she regretted that impulsive action and she crouched to start picking up the shattered pieces. Under her breath, she muttered, “God that was so immature.”

She honestly expected him to walk away, to get on the elevator. But when she hissed out in pain as a jagged piece of glass sliced her finger, he was right there.

“You're bleeding. C'mere.”

One strong arm went around her waist as he guided her to the sink. All the while, he was holding the hand she cut in his other hand.

He turned on the faucet and rinsed her hand gently.

“Gonna make you start wearing gauntlets in the kitchen.”

His eyes never left her hand. But Darcy couldn't tear her eyes from his face. The words just slipped out, “I miss you.”

“Yeah.. “ he shook his head slightly, but still didn't look at her, “... it looks like we spent a lot of time together. Before. Steve's got pictures all over.”

“You keep going out on missions... I never see you. Sam and I ... We miss you.”

He took a clean towel out of the drawer and wrapped it around her hand, putting pressure on the cut. “Yeah... Sorry... I just need to keep busy.”

“We could have dinner? Or... something....anything...”

He backed away, towards the elevator. He seemed desperate to get away from her. “Maybe. Yeah. We'll see. I really need to go. Matt asked for help...so...”

Darcy nodded. She didn't know why she bothered. It wasn't as if he was looking at her.

Kate came bounding into the common area and greeted, “Hey, dumbass, where you off to?”

“Have a date with Daredevil.”

“Wait up. You want me to go with?”

“Nah. We got this. Thanks though.” His back was already turned when he added, “Bye Ms. Lewis.”

She couldn't open her mouth to say goodbye, because if she did, she'd surely burst into tears. She could still feel the warmth of his arm around her waist. Her skin burned where he had touched her hand.

He was on the elevator and gone and Darcy couldn't even move.

Kate took notice of Darcy's trembling lower lip and begged, “Please don't cry. If you cry, then I'll cry.”

“He hates me,” Darcy choked out.

“He does not!” Kate's arms went around Darcy and she pulled her into a hug. Darcy let go and sobbed into Kate's shoulder.

Darcy couldn't see Tony come in the room, with her head buried in Kate's shoulder, but she could hear his concerned, “What's this?”

“Bucky,” Kate explained simply.

Darcy, on the other hand, spoke with hitching sobs, “He won't even look at me.”

“It's because looking at you is like looking into the sun, kid.”

Darcy sniffled, “That was lame.”

“It was beautiful,” Tony argued.

“Pretty much lame,” Kate agreed.

Darcy took a minute to thank God for her friends.

Tony

“Pass the Chex mix,” Tony insisted.

Cap gave him a look of utter exasperation, which caused Darcy and even Pepper to descend into giggles.

“It's gonna be fine, Cap,” Tony rolled his eyes a little. “The easiest extraction in Avengers history. Hence, the watch party.” He took a handful of the snack and then handed the bowl to Gabe Reyes. Perched behind them were Fitz, Simmons, and Bruce. Tony, Mack, and Elena were ready to wade in, should the need arise, but they didn't expect a problem, so they were snacking on the party mix and watching the extraction as if it was a movie.

Nakia had extracted herself from Oscorp two days earlier. They'd staged a fake car accident and the death of her undercover identity.

“We can't be too careful,” Steve said, his eyes on the screen in front of him. Simultaneously, Tony mouthed the same words.

Darcy laughed again.

Steve didn't turn around, but Tony could see a faint smile in his profile. She hadn't been laughing much lately. It was good to hear.

“Scott? Report?”

Scott was literally sitting on T'Challa's shoulder. His voice was too soft in his shrunken state for anyone to hear in person. But it came through in the communicator, loud and clear.

“We're in position.”

“Hope?”

She was also shrunk and acting as Shuri's personal superhero. “My girl is ready to go. She's got all of the chemical markers placed in the lab.”

“Kids?”

Peter Parker's voice came out over the comms, “Captain Rogers, sir, no offense, but do you have to call us 'kids'?”

Steve turned to look at Tony with his eyebrows knitted in annoyance. Tony just smiled, popped some Chex into his mouth and then offered Darcy some, followed by an offer to Bruce.

“Spiders?” Steve corrected.

“We're in place, Captain.”

Natasha's voice rang out, “Before you ask, Steve, I'm in place. Nakia is in place. Clint and Sam are in place. Can we get this party started so that we can get the party started? I want cake.”

Steve sighed loudly. And then announced, “We're go for extraction, T'Challa.”

The group in the common room watched on multiple screens as the action unfolded.

First, T'Challa entered through the front door of the Oscorp building, in full dress robes, flanked by members of the Dora Milaje. He announced himself and then descended into what could only be described as a Royal hissy fit. He wanted his sister, he knew she was there, she was his subject, blah blah blah.

Soon Shuri got off the elevator, escorted by security, and threw a fake fit of her own. The siblings pretended to bicker about returning to Wakanda and the Dora Milaje escorted the wayward Princess and their King into a waiting town car, driven by Nakia.

“We're on our way to the jet, Captain,” Nakia told them. “We'll rendezvous with Agent Romanoff in 10 minutes.”

Meanwhile, the spider trio had entered through an air duct and were taking marked pieces of equipment out to Sam, who flew them to a cloaked quinjet, piloted by Clint.

“We've got everything Shuri marked,” Gwen announced.

“Good, get out of there. We'll see you back at the Tower.”

“Told you,” Tony remarked, “Smooth sailing.”

“That's a dumb thing to say,” Bruce joked, “Now it's all gonna go to hell.”

“Captain?” Gabe asked, “Can you teach me to do that? To run an op?”

“That's something you're interested in?”

“Yes, sir.”

Tony gave him a little bump on the arm, “I like you kid. You've got ambition.” Tony then looked around and remarked, “Where's your brother, what's he doing?”

Darcy did a fake cough, “Kate.”

Before Cap could look offended, Clint announced, “We're landing.”

“Great,” Tony said, “Can we get this party started or what?”

“Once Natasha has T'Challa, Nakia and Shuri safely in her quinjet, and the Royal jet is en route to Wakanda, we can party.”

“You really think that someone from Oscorp will track T'Challa's jet all the way to Wakanda?” Pepper asked.

Tony shrugged. “I would. ”

“Right. Best to let them think that Shuri is just a spoiled little princess who got dragged home. There are enough evil organizations that know about her association with us. Let's minimize the risk if we can,” Steve agreed.

Tony responded by throwing a pretzel at him. “No monologue-ing until I've had cake.”

Bucky

Bucky rounded the corner towards his apartment and stopped dead in his tracks. He slunk backward until he was hidden by a corner. His heart was pounding and he felt sick by what he saw: Sam and Daisy, locked in a pretty damned passionate looking embrace.

Poor Darcy. She was the single kindest person on the planet, and for her to be betrayed like this...

Bucky debated stepping forward and confronting Sam. Instead, he ended up eavesdropping.

“So, I can come home?” Sam asked, his head pressed to Daisy's forehead.

“Come home. Unless you've become attached to Darcy's couch.”

“That damned cat keeps sleeping on my face,” Sam let out a soft chuckle, “I think she's trying to smother me in my sleep. What changed your mind, Baby Girl?”

“Kate yelled at me. She said that pushing you away because I was afraid of losing you was...what did she say? So unbelievably idiotic that idiots would be insulted at the idiocy.”

“Sounds like our Katie Kate.”

“Bucky said something, too.”

“Glad he talks to you, he won't say shit to me anymore.”

Bucky's heart was pounding for a different reason now. And he didn't feel sick anymore, he felt like he could fly. Sam was sleeping on Darcy's couch, not in her bed.

She wasn't married to Sam. She wasn't married to Stark. He'd never seen another man enter her apartment. The husband she had mentioned wasn't around. Maybe she was divorced. Or widowed.

She wasn't with anyone.

He was a complete idiot.

He was an idiot that had spent a significant amount of time in a dumpster this evening. And no amount of stealth on his part could have kept him hidden for long.

It was Daisy who noticed, “What is that _smell_?”

Bucky stepped out of the shadows and said sheepishly. “It's me.”

Daisy put her hand over her mouth and nose while Sam muttered, “Holy hell.”

“Oh Bucky Bear, what happened to you?”

“Had to pull Murdock out of a dumpster.”

Sam kept his hand over his mouth when he told him, “Good thing you aren't staying with Steve and Nat anymore. Otherwise, she'd take you out back and hose you down before you stepped foot in her apartment.”

“Yeah. You might want to burn those clothes, honey.”

“And stay out of the common area, because you'll ruin the party with that stench.”

“I can't believe we have parties for extractions.”

Daisy explained, “It's a birthday party. The extraction just happened to be tonight.”

“Want me to grab you a slice of cake?” Sam asked.

“Don't need any cake. But thanks, Sam.” For the first time that Bucky could remember, he met Sam's eyes and smiled at him.

Sam's face looked hopeful when he asked. “How about we take in a ball game this weekend?”

“You buying?”

“Yep. Tickets, peanuts, cracker jacks, beer you want it I'll buy it.”

“I'm in, Birdbrain. As long as it's the Mets, not the Yankees.”

“I fucking hate the Yankees, man.”

“Our friendship finally makes sense, Sam.”

* * *

  
  


After a shower and some clean clothes, Bucky decided to venture into the common area. It wasn't to see Darcy, he told himself.

She was sitting with Stark, laughing and bouncing Stark's baby girl on her knee. Just the sight of her laughter made him smile. She lit up the damned room.

He took a breath, set his shoulders, and made it two steps before he was interrupted.

“What is this?” Sam teased, handing Bucky a beer. “Didn't expect to see you.”

“Didn't expect to see you either. Thought you'd be re-acquainting yourself with your girl.”

“Unfortunately, my girl is analyzing the data set that Shuri brought back. We can make up for lost time later.”

Bucky sighed and admitted, “I should probably get to know Daisy again.”

“Lot's of people you should get to know again. Including me. I don't know why you've been avoiding me...”

Bucky felt his face heat up. He quickly debated telling Sam the truth. Hell, he'd probably think it was funny. But what came out was, “I um...I'm sorry Sam.”

While Bucky had cast his eyes down, a feminine hand dropped onto his arm. “There's more to the Avengers than missions,” Natasha scolded, “And you've forgotten a lot of the important stuff.”

“Fill me in. Starting with, who's birthday is it?”

“Darcy's. It's actually tomorrow, but Steve and I are leaving tonight for a meeting at the Hague. So we're celebrating now.”

“But... “ Bucky felt his face heat right back up again. “I saw her baking a cake. She was baking her own birthday cake?”

“She likes to bake,” Natasha soothed, “She says, that's the only way she can be sure that it's done right.”

“She threatened to bake all the cupcakes for...an event once,” Sam added, “And Stark finally convinced her to let him hire a bakery. She complained about the consistency of the buttercream for days.”

“Hey Buck, didn't expect to see you,” Steve greeted with a smile.

Sam raised his eyebrows, telling Bucky that he had indeed been so scarce during social events that people had stopped expecting him to show.

“Stop nagging, Sam,” Bucky grumbled.

“I didn't say a word.”

“You didn't have to.”

It took an inordinate amount of time to pry himself from the social grasp of Sam and Steve. It didn't help that he felt terribly guilty for avoiding Sam for no reason. But it was Darcy that he came here to see. So when he saw Tony rise from his spot next to Darcy with the baby in his arms, Bucky excused himself to 'say Happy Birthday' to her.

“Happy birthday.”

“Hi,” her eyes lit up with what Bucky hoped was genuine delight, “I thought you said you weren't coming.”

Bucky sat down next to her, his pulse was pounding and his mouth was dry. He took a sip of his beer before he explained, “Matt's op ended with him being thrown in a dumpster.”

“That happens a lot, actually,” she smiled.

“Not surprised.”

She let out the softest, almost imperceptible sigh and said, “I'm glad you came.”

“So am I.”

Tony

“We should tell him,” Tony argued, nodding over to where Bucky and Darcy sat.

Cap made a funny face at Morgan and 'flew' a spoonful of baby food into her mouth. “And you say I'm pushy.”

“Cap...”

Steve didn't look away from Morgan as he explained, “Darcy doesn't want him to feel pressured to be with her. It's her call. Besides, he's making progress.”

“If he knew the truth...”

“It's her call, Tony,” he repeated. “And I don't disagree with you. But... look at them.”

Tony did look at them, they were sitting next to each other, chatting. Flirting even. “I hate it when you're right, Cap.

“Yeah. I know you do.”

Steve loaded a spoonful of frosting onto the baby spoon and started 'flying' it towards Morgan's waiting mouth. Across the room, Pepper yelled, “Steve Rogers, don't you dare feed my baby that cake!”

“Pepper scares me.”

Tony shrugged and countered, “Natasha scares me.”

“God we're lucky,” Steve breathed out.

“We really are.”

Darcy

Darcy felt like she had floated back to her room. She did a little twirl of joy when she entered the apartment, like a rom-com heroine.

It was absurd. She knew every inch of that man. She had memorized every freckle, every scar. And yet, the fleeting touch of his hand tonight made her heart flutter and her cheeks redden. She felt like a teenager.

She had just drifted off to sleep in a bed that she hoped she would be sharing again when Gretel insistently started butting her head against Darcy's chin.

“Leave me alone, Gretel,” she mumbled.

Friday pulled Darcy completely out of her sleep, “Mrs. Barnes? Agent Barnes is having a nightmare and I'm unable to reach Agent Wilson.”

Darcy flung the covers off and darted out the door. She didn't wait for the elevator, she ran barefoot down the stairs.

“Friday, override the lock on Agent Barnes's apartment.”

“Done.”

“Bucky?” she called out, as she dashed to his bedroom.

He had tossed the covers off and was already drenched in sweat. He was curled up on his right side with his hands fisted in the sheets in front of him.

Darcy crawled up onto the mattress behind him, “Babe, you're having a nightmare. It's not real.”

“I can't...” he was shivering, “please.”

“Shhh.” Darcy straightened out the covers as she climbed into bed. She covered him back up and then curled herself around him, resting her cheek on the top of his head, “You're safe. I've got you.”

“Please,” he repeated.

“Listen to me, Bucky. Listen to my voice,” she murmured. She pulled him back tighter against her body, holding him close so that the shivering would stop. “I'll keep you safe, I promise.”

“Darcy...”

She smoothed his hair back away from his forehead. “That's right. I'm here.”

If the room hadn't been so quiet, she wouldn't have heard it when he whispered, “Love you.”

Her eyes stung and she willed herself not to cry. “I love you too, sweetheart. I miss you.”

When the shivering stopped, and his breathing became slow and even, she climbed back out of his bed and slipped out of his apartment.

Bucky

“What're you doin' in my bed?” His voice was raspy with sleep.

Wide eyes blinked at him through dark lashes. She stretched languidly and yawned.

“Don't mind me, Gretel, you get comfortable,” he scolded.

She started to purr and blinked again.

He left her on the pillow as he took care of his morning necessities. After a shower and brushed teeth, she hadn't moved.

“All right now, you're pushing your luck. You flerken-ed your way in here, you can flerken your way out.”

Her tail thumped against the pillow twice and then she went back to sleep.

“I'm gonna have to take you to Darcy, aren't I? You know what? That's fine. I wanna see her. And I can thank her for taking care of...you...”

Bucky stopped and thought, really thought about it. Darcy had told him _he_ had adopted Gretel, but he didn't have any cat supplies in the apartment.

He looked around his bedroom with a critical eye. When he abandoned Steve's couch for his own place he assumed he was going back to his apartment in the Tower. There were a few pictures of friends but nothing that could be interpreted as his, except for his clothes. Honestly, the apartment didn't even feel like his.

Gretel had shown up a few times before, always after a nightmare. In his sleep-addled state, he hadn't made the connection at the time, but now he remembered clearly. She'd be there when he had a nightmare, providing comfort after Steve woke him up. Then she'd be gone in the morning.

“Friday? Did I have a nightmare last night?”

“Your biometrics indicate that you had a nightmare lasting 6 minutes, after which you settled into REM sleep.”

“All on my own?”

“No, Mrs. Barnes assisted you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title taken from Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynryd.


	15. How Much I've Wanted You Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go...

Mrs. Barnes?

Bucky swallowed hard. Did he hear that right? Did Friday say that Mrs. Barnes helped him through a nightmare last night?

“Mrs. Barnes?” he repeated out loud.

He sat back down on the bed before he collapsed with shock. Gretel nudged his hand and he asked her, “Mrs. Barnes?”

Next to him was a pillow. One that he never used. But there was a telltale dip in it. Someone had rested their head there and left before he woke. He picked up the pillow and pressed it to his nose. It smelled like vanilla and faintly of raspberries. Like the cake from the party last night.

It couldn't be. He couldn't be that lucky.

He closed his eyes and inhaled again. Memories of that short time in the safe house... she cried for him. She said she hurt for him. She promised she'd never leave him. She took care of him. Comforted him. Her touch felt like...home.

He scratched Gretel under the chin and looked around the apartment that never really felt like his.

“Let's go home, Gretel.”

* * *

He really intended to be less blunt. He went over what he was going to say when he took the stairs to her apartment. But when she opened the door, standing there in pajamas with a bowl of cereal in her hands, he blurted out, “Darcy? Are we married?”

“How...?” The spoon fell out of her hand to the floor. Free of the burden of the spoon, her hand went to her chest as she asked with wide eyes, “Are you mad? Please don’t be mad. No. You can be mad. It’s okay to be mad. I’m not trying to tell you how to feel.” With a whisper, she added, “Shut up Darcy.”

“Darcy?”

“I ramble when I'm nervous.”

“I know,” he smiled a little, trying to remove the anxiety from her face, but he failed.

“I'm sorry, it’s a terrible fault.”

He took the cereal bowl from her hands and set it on the little table next to the door before he closed the door and repeated the question, “Darcy...am I your husband?”

She put her hands up and looked like she was going to back away from him. But she didn't. Instead, she lowered her hands, closed her eyes and took a steadying breath before saying, “I... I don't expect anything from you, Bucky. You don't remember us. If you want out...”

“I don't want out,” he closed the gap between them and reached out, gently wrapping one brunette curl around his fingers. Her eyes opened and she looked up at him. Her lovely mouth opened in surprise. “I'm sorry I can't remember our life together. But maybe... this can be a good thing. How many people get to fall in love a second time?”

“Third,” she corrected softly.

“What?”

“Never mind. It's not important. Are you sure?”

He raised his hands to her face, cupping it gently. With his thumbs, he wiped away the tears that rolled down her cheeks. “Even when I knew nothing, I knew I wanted you. Can you ...do you still want me?”

Her breath hitched when she admitted, “I will always want you.”

“I dreamed of you saying that to me,” he told her, lowering his forehead to hers.

“It was a memory,” she told him.

“Well, then it was a good one. Happy tears?”

She nodded. “Happy tears.”

Her breath was hot against his lips and he had every intention of kissing her. But first, he had one more thing to say, “I'm sorry I got lost, Darcy.”

“That's okay babe. You found me.”

Her lips grazed over his and she repeated, “You found me.”

He'd fantasized about being with her. He always pictured frantic, desperate kisses and the frenzied shedding of clothing.

Instead, he found his hands shaking as he tilted her chin up more to taste her lips. Rasped breathing exited his lungs. His heart was beating his ears. And God, his eyes were watering.

Her hands found their way to his chest and slid up until they were at the back of his neck and she was pulling his face down just as he was tilting hers up.

He was going to melt into this woman.

They were shocked out of their embrace by the ringing of Darcy's phone. It rattled against the kitchen counter as it vibrated.

“You've got to be kidding me,” she growled. She stalked over to the phone and snapped, “Zach, it's my birthday. I took the day _off._”

Bucky wandered around the living room while she scolded her assistant. Gretel had made herself at home in a hammock next to the window.

The whole place felt familiar. Like home. He took a framed picture off a bookshelf and looked at it, smiling at the image.

“No, a Build a Bear of Vision is not a security risk... Yes I know he's on the deep cover team... It's not a security risk because A) Vis can change his appearance and B) it's a _bear_...Okay, Zach. Not a problem, but I plan on spending the day in bed so... all right, see you tomorrow.” She tossed the phone on the kitchen counter and shrugged an apology.

Bucky raised an eyebrow at her and asked, “The day in bed?”

“That _is_ my plan,” she took one slinky step toward him and then stopped, “Unless... I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring...”

“God forbid, that the woman I've been pining for for the last six weeks, who just happens to be my wife, wants to spend the day in bed.” He reached his hand out for her. She took it with a smile and he pulled her close.

“Just, you know, making sure. I sometimes have an issue with boundaries.”

“I can tell,” he held the picture in front of him, “Are you trying to assault me with a cupcake?”

“As a matter of fact, I am. And you deserved it. That whole smashing the cake in your bride's face at the wedding reception thing? Not cute.”

“I don't know. You look cute to me,” he placed a kiss on the top of her head, “Looks like we had a good time.”

“It was fun. Super casual. We got hitched at city hall a few days earlier.”

Bucky was aghast. He remembered his sister dreaming of her wedding day. Every dame he knew before the war did. “City hall? Did I keep you from having a real wedding?”

“Don't be stupid, babe. A big fancy thing where everyone is uncomfortable and stressed out? _Not _my style. City hall was my idea, and it _was_ a real wedding.”

He had a feeling she was trying to protect him. He had a feeling she did that a lot. “How much have you had to sacrifice to be with me?” he asked quietly.

Her response was adamant, “Nothing! I swear. I was already hitched to the superhero bandwagon after Puente Antigua. Then, after Hydra kidnapped and tortured me...”

“What?! Because of me?”

“Sweetheart, we hadn't even _met_ yet. It was because of my association with Thor. Not you. It was at the same time that you saved Pepper from Hydra. Thor saved me and Jane. You know, the first time I saw you was when you were in the infirmary after you got shot. Tony was practically hovering, making sure you got better. I read to you, while you slept. We didn't meet for real until later. Tony and Steve really got into the whole Avengers Initiative thing. We brought in Coulson's team and the science teams. I started working for Pepper, in public relations. Then I got you. And you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. Ever.”

Darcy took his hand and escorted him to the couch. She booted up the laptop and started a slideshow. “Look at us, Bucky. Do I look unhappy to you? Do either of us?”

Bucky saw picture after picture go by. Most were of just him and Darcy. Sometimes he was smiling at the camera with her. Sometimes she was kissing his cheek and he was pretending to look annoyed. There were others of Sam, Daisy, Kate, Steve... He stopped her at a familiar picture, the night of Nat and Steve's engagement. “Steve has this picture up.”

“That was a good night. He actually surprised Natasha. Which is like, impossible.”

“What's this?” The next was of Sam, Daisy, Kate and himself, all asleep on the couch like a litter of puppies. Sam had a piece of pizza with a single bite taken out of it in his hand.

“You guys insisted you were 'too wired' to rest after a mission. Ten minutes into pizza, you were all out. I couldn't resist getting a picture.”

The next was from what had to have been their reception. Darcy was wearing that same simple white dress and the Avengers were all in the background, watching them.

“Are we dancing to that song? Cheek to Cheek?”

“Either that or Stayin' Alive,” she had a little mischief in her eyes with that answer.

“But we did dance to it. You said you danced with your husband.” Bucky was hoping that playing that song on the piano meant that his memories of her were still there, in his head.

She almost seemed to know why it mattered to him when she squeezed his hand and said softly, “We've danced to it. But not at our wedding. We danced to something else. Wanna hear?”

Bucky nodded and Darcy called out, “Friday? Can you play At Last?”

“Would you care to hear the Etta James version, Mrs. Barnes?”

“You know it.”

Bucky sat back and listened to the opening strains. “I know this song. It's Glenn Miller.”

“This is the best version, though,” she told him. She inched closer on the couch and took his arm.

He closed his eyes and let the music overtake him. “It's beautiful,” he whispered.

He felt her hand come up to rest on his shoulder and she rested her chin on her hand. Her lips were against his cheek when she asked, “What's wrong, babe?”

“Why can't I remember?”

Darcy started smoothing his hair away from his face. “I don't know. At first, your memories came rushing back and then they just... stopped. If I could pick and choose, you'd remember the last couple of years and forget about...”

“Hydra.”

“Yeah. I wish you could forget all of that.”

“Sorry, you have to deal with... with the nightmares and...”

“Hey. No.” She moved her hands to his face and gently forced him to look at her. “That's not what I meant. I don't _mind_. I mean, I hate it. I hate that you hurt. But it's not a _burden_ for me. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Your ridiculous aversion to decent coffee is a burden...” she smiled.

“I'm not gonna spend six dollars on a coffee. Ain't nothing...”

“...wrong with Folgers,” they finished together.

“See? You're terrible. I don't know how I put up with you.” She punctuated this statement with a smile and a kiss. It was sweet and playful and yet, Bucky couldn't resist wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his lap. She giggled, but deepened the kiss, sucking on his lower lip and lightly dragging her fingernails down the back of his neck.

She giggled again when he moaned with pleasure. In response, he growled and lowered her to the cushions of the couch. She reached up for him with her arms and parted her legs, inviting him to settle there.

“I have to be dreaming,” he murmured against her neck.

“You dream about me babe?” she asked, grabbing the hem of his shirt and yanking, a clear demand that he take it off. And, yes, he wanted it off. He wanted her hands on his skin. But not as badly as he wanted to touch her. To be skin to skin with her.

She must have read his mind, because when he leaned back to tug off his tee, she pulled her pajama top off as well, revealing her bra-less torso.

“You're a goddamned fantasy, darlin.”

He was torn between holding her tight to feel that beautiful expanse of skin against him and putting his mouth on her luscious breasts. But it was his hand that reached for her, tracing his fingers around and under, his thumb grazing her nipple.

She hummed softly at his touch and her eyes fluttered closed. And he had to kiss her. He just _had_ to. And damn it, why couldn't he be kissing her everywhere at once?

He drank from her lips and when she slipped her tongue inside his mouth he let out his own low moan.

Her hands were skimming the skin of his back and her hips were rocking against him and...

His phone was ringing.

“Son of a...”

He pulled the phone out of his back pocket and tossed it across the room.

Darcy laughed again. “I hope that wasn't important.”

“If it's important, there will be an Assemble order.”

He shifted his concentration back to her creamy white breasts. He drew a pert nipple into his mouth, suckling gently while his hand molded itself to the shape of its twin.

Vaguely, he heard his phone chime that he was receiving text messages.

Darcy hooked her calf around his thigh and raised her hips, rolling and grinding them against him.

“Keep that up and this'll be over before it starts,” he warned.

“Can't help it,” she panted, “I _want_.”

She arched her back as she said it and Bucky breathed out, “God.”

The world was all her, and her skin, and her voice and heat until a voice broke through from above.

“Agent Barnes, Agent Barton is trying to reach you. He wants to know if you would like to accompany...”

Bucky interrupted Friday with, “Tell Agent Barton that I plan on spending the day in bed with my wife.”

“Yes, Agent Barnes, very good.”

“And Friday? Thank you.”

“You are quite welcome, Agent Barnes.”

“There's a problem with your plan, babe,” Darcy told him, as she nipped on his shoulder.

“What's that, darlin'?”

“We haven't made it to the bed.”

“Hmm,” he scooted down and feathered kisses across her belly, “we should prob'ly fix that.”

Bucky rose to his feet and scooped her into his arms. He wondered if he carried her through the threshold like this after they married. He smiled wistfully, happy to be in this moment, but regretting that he couldn't remember that one.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Darcy whispered as he carried her to the bedroom and laid her down on the mattress.

She reached for him and he told her, “I can't believe you're mine.”

“I am. I'm yours.”

And even as she was kissing him, those words tickled his thoughts. Between exploring kisses he asked, “Is that a memory?”

He wasn't sure if her response was to the question or to the way he was touching her when she breathed out, “Yes.”

It didn't really matter.

  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title taken from Open Arms by Journey


	16. I Don't Want to Close My Eyes...

Darcy

Six long weeks of being alone in her bed had finally ended. Darcy was curled up against Bucky's chest, their legs tangled together. Her hand was placed over his chest, feeling the thump of his heartbeat against her palm.

“I thought it was Sam,” he said, winding his fingers through her hair.

“Hmm?”

“Your husband. I thought it was Sam.”

She looked up at him with a smile.“You're kidding.”

“Well. You were always together. You were _living_ together.”

“We were always together because misery loves company. And he slept on the couch. ”

“Well, I know that _now_.”

She placed a kiss over his heart. “Are you mad? That I didn't tell you? ”

“Nah. I get why,” his fingers moved up to massage her scalp. “You wanted me to be with you because I _wanted _to, not because I _had_ to.”

“See!” She tapped his chest to punctuate the word, “That's what I told everyone. They all thought I was being an idiot.”

“Oh we're idiots,” he pulled her tight and his hand drifted down to squeeze her bottom. “We missed out on six weeks of this.”

“You're such a sex fiend,” she teased, giving him a little nip.

“Am I?”

She looked up at him and his eyes were twinkling with amusement.

She rose up to straddle his hips and his eyes darkened. “God yes. You're insatiable, Agent Barnes.”

“And you're a vixen, Mrs. Barnes.” He flipped her onto the mattress, and she laughed in utter delight.

* * *

Darcy had ended up sitting with her back against the headboard with Bucky leaning back against her. Her arms were draped over his shoulders, and he was playing the fingers of her left hand.

“We don't have rings.”

“What's that, babe?”

“Wedding rings,” he rubbed the spot on Darcy's finger where her ring should have been. The skin there was more pale than the rest of her hand.

“We took them off to hand wash the dishes. They're somewhere in the rubble of the beach house now,” she kissed the side of his head and scolded, “And this, my dear, is why dishwashers are a good thing. Technology: good.”

“The bubbles are relaxing,” he protested.

“In a bubble bath, maybe. Dirty dishwater? No. You weirdo.”

He was still playing with her fingers as he mused, “My ma took her wedding ring off when she did the dishes. You probably already knew that.”

“I don't mind hearing it again.”

He looked up at her with a sorrowful look, “I lost my wedding ring. I'm sorry, darlin.”

“It's just a ring. I have back the thing that really matters.”

* * *

  
  


Bucky was supposed to be getting ice cream and coming back to bed. But she could tell by his footfalls that he hadn't made it to the kitchen.

Darcy stopped at the doorway to the bedroom and watched him. He looked delicious in his jeans and nothing else. The muscles in his back rippled as he reached for the small framed photos on the bookshelf, regarding each one with a half-smile. Six weeks of separation had been enough. She couldn't resist touching him for one second longer.

She padded over and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her cheek rested against the shoulder blade of his cybernetic limb. The skin there felt a little different, although she'd never tell Dr. Cho or Fitz that.

Darcy regretted putting Bucky's shirt on because the fabric kept her skin from being against his.

“Are you okay, Bucky?”

“Yeah. Finally. Finally, everything feels like it makes sense.” He turned a little, inviting her to tuck herself under his arm so she could see what he was looking at. It was a picture of Bucky and Steve, laughing. It looked very similar to a picture that was taken during the war. But in this picture, they weren't alone. Darcy and Natasha were in the background, smiling at their significant others.

The words escaped her lips without thinking, “I was really jealous.”

“Hmm?”

“Of Steve,” Darcy explained, “You remembered him right away. And I thought...you'd remember me right away too. But...”

He put one finger under her chin and turned it up so he could see her. “I'm sorry, Darcy.”

“No. Hey,” she shook her head, “Not your fault. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said...”

Bucky moved his hands to her face, forcing her to look at him. “Is that why you mentioned that you had a husband? You were trying to knock something loose in my head?”

“And it only made you upset. Screwed things up. I'm really sorry.”

“It's okay, sweetheart,” he whispered against her lips. She melted into his kisses for several minutes.

But she had more to say, so she took a half step back and started rambling, “You know I wasn't trying to deceive you. It's just you had so much to remember and adjust to and I didn't want to be like, surprise, I'm your wife.”

“I know,” he stopped her with another kiss. “And I actually appreciate the space.” Then Bucky cast his eyes down at her, clad in his discarded tee shirt. He bit his lower lip and cocked his head to the side, and admitted, “But if you only knew the fantasies I was having about you...”

“Oh yeah?” she responded, biting her lower lip as well. “What kind of fantasies?”

He lunged for her and Darcy squealed, running towards the bedroom with her husband giving chase.

* * *

  
  


It only took one moan from Bucky and one nudge from Gretel and Darcy was wide awake whispering in Bucky's ear. “Babe, you're having a nightmare. You're safe in the Tower.”

“Cold...” he murmured.

“You're not cold, babe. You're warm and safe in our bed.”

Just to be sure, she pulled the blanket up to his chin and scooted her body as close as she could to him. “I'm right here, keeping you warm.”

“Darcy...” he rolled onto her, his cheek on one breast and his hand on the other.

“Okay. Sleep groping. That's um...nice.” Darcy traced her fingers up and down the back of his neck. “Friday? How has he been sleeping?”

Friday responded quietly, mimicking Darcy's volume. “Agent Barnes has been sleeping an average of 3.75 hours per night.”

“And how many nightmares?”

“Nightly.”

It took her just a few moments to soothe and calm him into a restful sleep tonight. Night after night he'd been suffering, all because of her stupid charade. She tried to choke back her tears for several minutes. Eventually, her body gave up, and a single body-racking sob escaped.

The motion of it jarred Bucky awake and he immediately asked, “What's wrong?

Fresh tears flooded her eyes, “Damn it. I woke you up.”

He re-positioned himself until they were face to face, his forehead touching hers, “S'alright. You can wake me anytime you want. But I can think of better reasons than watching my girl cry.”

“You haven't been sleeping,” she whispered the accusation, even though they were both awake.

“Told you. Don't want to.”

“I could have helped you... all this time...all my fault.”

“No,” Bucky wiped a tear away with his thumb. “My nightmares are because of Hydra. My memory loss is because of the Ghost Rider. And you aren't either of those things.”

“I could have helped...”

“And you will. From now on. Okay?” He pulled her up into his arms so she was laying her head on his chest, almost exactly the reverse of the position they were in just a moment ago.

“You know about the Ghost Rider?”

“Only what Natasha has told me. That Reyes has a demon inside of him that takes control now and then. Somehow he's responsible for my memory loss.”

“Oh.”

“I want you to take your own advice, Darcy. Stop blaming yourself for things that aren't your fault.”

“I'll try if you will.”

He stroked her hair and then teased, “All the sexy dreams I've had of you at sunset. Those _are_ your fault. How about you help me recreate some of them? Hmm?”

His touches were gentle and not sexually charged, but she teased anyway, “Sex fiend.”

“Guilty as charged, Mrs. Barnes. Now let's get some sleep. You wore me out.”

  
Bucky

Darcy drifted off to sleep, but Bucky didn't. He wasn't lying. He was physically and emotionally exhausted. Happy. But exhausted.

His body had become accustomed to surviving on minimal sleep. He'd been avoiding both the nightmares and avoiding his dreams of Darcy.

And now, that he had her in his arms, he wanted to stay awake and watch her. He wanted to feel her, warm and breathing in his embrace. Sleep would be a waste of those precious moments.

He held her for an hour and was beginning to drift off when she jerked in his arms. She didn't make any noise but her brows were knitted in distress.

She shot awake, looked around with wide eyes and muttered, “Fuck.”

“Darcy?”

“It was just a bad dream, Bucky. Don't worry.” She settled back down against his side, sharing his pillow.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Don't worry about it,” she commanded, dragging a finger down the dimple in his chin. “It's nothing. Just the stress.”

“Does it have anything to do with your bullet scars?”

She opened her mouth in surprise. She probably assumed he hadn't noticed since they were clearly the recipients of Dr. Cho's tissue regeneration. But he could feel the difference in the skin, especially with his cybernetic hand.

“Actually,” she sighed, “this one was the Dark Elves. I'm fine, babe. We all have nightmares. Yours are definitely the worst, but we all have them. Even those of us who are just Avengers adjacent.”

“You sure you don't want to talk about it?”

“Mmm hmm. I'm sure, babe.”

“Then tell me a memory. A good one. Tell me about the day we met.”

“You drove me off a cliff,” she said simply, with a huge grin on her face.

She had to be kidding, “I. Did. Not.”

“You did. You broke my phone, locked me in a stairwell and drove me off a cliff.”

“And you still married me?”

“Love at first sight, babe,” she promised, lightly grazing her lips against his.

Reflexively, his hand went to the back of her neck and he deepened the kiss, darting his tongue out to taste her bottom lip.

Darcy sighed and moved her leg over his. “Thought I wore you out, babe,” she murmured.

“Second wind.”

A small laugh escaped her and she responded, “Fifth wind.”

“Vixen,” he repeated with a growl.

“Yeah, well, this vixen is a little sore.”

He was about to tell her that he was sorry, that he didn't need to make love again. But Darcy grinned widely and dove under the covers. “Darcy what...?”

Oh.

Six freaking weeks.

They really were idiots.

  
  


  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title taken from I Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith. Of course it is.


	17. Pour Your Sugar on Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's like...no plot...at all... in this chapter. Skip it if you want to skip the smut.

Bucky

Big green eyes blinked slowly at him while she stretched.

Bucky couldn't resist. He stroked her from just under the neck to the softness of her belly.

“She's gonna bite you,” Darcy warned from the doorway.

Sure enough, Gretel struck a playful bite at Bucky's hand, which he pulled away just in time. “Her belly is just so furry, I can't resist.” Gretel responded by rolling up onto her back and curling all four of her feet up. “Tummy temptress,” he accused.

Darcy was leaning against the doorway holding the largest bowl of cereal he'd ever seen.

“Hungry, Darlin?” he asked.

“Starved. Somebody spent all day yesterday wearing me out.”

She was wearing nothing but one of his t-shirts and he was seriously considering wearing her out some more.

“I brought two spoons, though,” she offered. She sat down cross-legged on the bed in front of him, offered him a spoon, and scolded, “Stop checking out the goodies. You aren't getting any more action until we've gotten some nutrition in us.”

“This is nutrition?” He asked, taking a bite of the sugar-coated cereal.

“It's totally heart-healthy, babe.”

“And how much sugar did you add?”

“A little. Okay, a lot. But in my defense, I burned a lot of calories yesterday.”

“That we did,” he agreed with a smirk. She smirked back, put the bowl on the nightstand, took the spoon out of his hand, placed one hand on his chest and pushed him back against the bed. She wrapped her lips around his bottom lip and sucked gently on it, letting out a little 'mmm'. His arms went around her, one around her waist and the other up to cradle the back of her neck.

“Mmm. Sugar,” he murmured between kisses.

“See? Heart-healthy.”

“Yeah? Let me check.” Bucky turned her onto her back and smirked again. He tugged on the tee-shirt she was wearing and she lifted it up and off. Her hair was disheveled. Her skin had red marks from his beard. She had a few small bruises from his fingers on her hips. And she looked like a goddess.

He placed one hand over her left breast and felt her heart beating against his palm. “Yeah. Your heart feels pretty good.”

“You sure?”

“My lips are more sensitive, lemme double-check.” He ran his tongue around her nipple before latching his mouth over it to suckle gently.

“Shit. Babe.” Darcy's hips were rolling underneath him, and her hand went to the back of his neck, holding him in place.

She whimpered when he dragged his lips up, first to her collarbone and then to her neck. “Should check your pulse too, doll.”

While his lips found her pulse point, his fingers drifted down, tracing the side of her other breast, teasing across her belly, and finally slipping between her swollen folds.

Her hips bucked at first and then settled into a slow rolling motion. She let out a low moan of pleasure.

He peppered kisses up her neck to her ear and then whispered, “You good, Darcy?”

“So good, Bucky,” she whispered back. “Want you.”

Darcy

“Please. Want you,” she repeated.

He drew her earlobe into his mouth and sucked on it gently. Between gentle pulls he whispered, “Patience.”

Meanwhile, his fingers drew little circles against her core. Darcy wiggled her hips back and forth, seeking more friction and she protested, “Not a patient person.”

“I'm discovering that,” he chuckled. “Don't want to hurt you, though. We've been...busy.”

She giggled but wiggled her hips some more. “We've been worse.”

“Seriously?” he asked.

“Mmmhmmm.”

Bucky dragged his lips down the column of her neck. Nipped across her collarbone and then wrapped his lips around her nipple again.

Darcy flung her arm over to reach for the drawer of the nightstand. She fumbled around until she found the small bottle she was looking for.

“Here. Use this and get inside me.”

“Yer bossy,” he complained. But he took the bottle from her hand....and burst out laughing.

“Avenger's Brand Super Soldier Sex Lube?”

“Hey, Natasha and I are only human. And you and Steve have _appetites_. So we do what we have to.”

“I have an appetite, huh?” He sucked on the tender skin of her belly. “Pretty sure you've been the one pouncing on me, darlin'.”

“I've missed you, sue me.”

“I'm gonna do something to you, but I ain't gonna sue you.”

“Yeah? You talk a big game, Agent Barnes. But I ain't seen much action....” the last word evaporated in her mouth when he pulled one leg over his shoulder and proceeded to lick, suck and kiss at her sex with abandon. He placed two fingers inside her and started to stroke at her upper wall, hitting that perfect spot. He alternated one finger and then the other, flicking them back and forth, over and over, gliding over that spongy area where the nerves were so sensitive.

Her belly started to tighten and coil. She could feel her skin flush. She knew he could feel her thighs shaking against his neck. “Bucky...”

“Hmmmm?”

And that was it, the humming against her flesh combined with the work of his fingers sent her into a bucking, spasm-ing bundle of sensation.

She didn't realize that he had climbed up her body until he murmured in her ear, “I love that you scream when you come.”

“I don't scream,” she weakly protested.

“Sure, you don't,” he teased.

Her comeback died in her throat as he entered her, maddeningly slowly.

She wrapped her legs around his, pushing at his thighs with her calves and the back of her knees. At the same time, she pushed her hands against his ass, trying to drive him into her deeper.

“So bossy.”

“Damn it, Bucky,” she moaned, straining and twisting to get more contact.

“All right, darlin'. I've got you.”

Bucky rested most of his weight on her body, balancing the rest on his forearms. Raising up on one elbow, he brushed the hair away from her face and rained kisses across her forehead and cheeks as he seated himself all the way inside her. “I've got you,” he repeated.

“Kiss me?” she begged.

He moved inside her, slowly at first, sliding his lips against hers in a similar rhythm. As his hips started to move faster, the kisses stopped. Instead, they breathed warm air against each other's lips.

Darcy fought to keep her eyes open, wanting to look into his eyes as they moved together. But soon the sensation was too much for them both.

Together they fell into blissful release.

Bucky

Once he caught his breath, he looked over at her and smiled. She was still breathing heavy. Her skin was prettily flushed from her cheeks down to her breasts. She looked beautiful. Ethereal. But he preferred her sassing at him.

“I have a few questions.”

“Mmm?” She responded. Still not moving.

“Is it okay that Gretel is drinking the milk out of our cereal?”

“I'd like to see you try to stop her.” She turned her head to the side and smiled at him. There was his sassy girl. “Next question?”

“Super Soldier Sex Lube?”

“Told you, Agent Barnes. You have an appetite.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, silently asking her to elaborate.

“Stark made it,” Darcy confessed.

“Please tell me you're kidding.”

“Not for you. For Dum-E. Nat discovered it somehow... I never asked how. Not sure I want to know. She gave it to me when we started dating.”

“Didn't need it this time. You were just fine without it.”

“That thing I taught you with your fingers on my G spot works every... wait...” She turned more and rolled up to balance on her forearm, looking down at him. “Did you remember that?”

“No...Muscle memory, I guess.”

“Hunh.” She flopped back down, “Well thank god for muscle memory.”

“Darcy?”

“Hmmm?”

“You scream when you orgasm.”

“I. Do. Not.”

"You do. Want me to prove it to you again?"

"See? An appetite."

"Yeah. You have me craving sugar."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar on Me.


	18. Ooh, You Make Me Live

_Bucky_

_There was no sun. Just a warm orange glow. _

_And yet, there was warmth. Maybe it was just the warmth of Darcy's hands in his or the warmth of being surrounded by their friends on this special day._

_Darcy looked like an angel, standing there in front of him, bathed in that glow. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears, and her lips were parted slightly, in the softest of smiles. If his hands hadn't been in hers, he would have caressed her cheek. She had already promised herself to him, and now it was his turn to return that promise._

“_I am Groot, I am Grrooot. I. Am. Groot.”_

_Bucky smiled at his beautiful bride and said, “I do.”_

“_I am Groot.”_

“_That's definitely Groot for 'you may now kiss the bride',” Darcy said quietly, biting her lower lip._

_Then someone, probably Sam, yelled, “Kiss her!”_

_Hell yes, Bucky was gonna kiss her. He gently took her face in his hands. Hers went to his chest. Before their lips met, she giggled, “We got hitched, babe.”_

_After what was probably an inappropriately passionate kiss for two people with an audience, Bucky released his grip on his bride and looked around them. “What is this?” _

_Darcy did a little turn to take in the light show that extended around them and up into the sky. Gold orbs of light spiraled upwards. Winding around in the opposite direction were similar lights, in silver. They wound together in a double helix._

“_Your souls,” Gamora explained._

“_I can't hold it for very long,” Wanda said, as the lights faded away._

“_I can still see it,” Darcy said, leaning in for a second kiss._

“_Me too.”_

  
  


Darcy

“Babe?” Darcy had been trying to wake Bucky for at least a few minutes. She had started by sweetly kissing his lips, face, and eyelids. But now she had resorted to poking his chest. “Babe.”

“Mrrwowr?” Gretel yawned.

Finally, those big blue eyes of his blinked open.

“Hey there. You aren't usually this hard to wake up.”

He had a soft smile on his face. “I was dreaming...”

“Not a nightmare.” It wasn't a question. She knew a nightmare when she saw one.

“No,” he stretched and smiled again, “Good dream. Just weird.”

“Sam's been calling. He has tickets to the Mets and wants you to 'hurry your hibernating ass up'.”

Bucky sat up, the sheet slid down to cover his lap. “How long did I sleep?”

“Twelve hours.” Darcy's eyes did a quick up and down of his torso before she asked, “Coffee?” She almost leaned forward and snuggled back into his arms, but instead, she picked up the cup she had made him off of the nightstand and handed it to him.

He took one sip and frowned, “This isn't coffee, it's like a dessert.”

“There are three shots of espresso in that bad boy. I promise you will be wide awake in no time.”

He scrunched up his nose. “How much sugar is in this, anyway?”

“Actual sugar? None. Caramel syrup? Lots.”

“Hmm. Speaking of actual sugar...” One of his arms went around her waist and he pulled her towards him. His lips found her earlobe and began nuzzling. She melted into his embrace, letting out a little sigh.

She stopped him when he reached for the hem of her shirt. With a gentle slap on his shoulder, Darcy scolded, “No. Bad sex fiend. You promised Sam. Get up. Get dressed.” Then she poked the tip of his nose with each of the next three words, “Drink. Your. Coffee.”

He grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on the tip of that finger, then another into the palm of her hand. “Sugar later?”

“Babe, you're stuck with me for like, ever. You can have sugar almost anytime you want.” She made the mistake of leaning in for a kiss. Which turned to another and another. He was reaching for her shirt again. “Almost,” she scolded, “But not now. Shower.”

“Yes ma'am,” he bit his lower lip in that enticing way he had and then stopped. He looked like he remembered something and for a brief moment, Darcy thought he had remembered something from their lives. But it was something else. “Sorry. You don't like it when I say that.”

At the safehouse, she had told him not to say that, because it had brought up too many intimate memories. Memories that were an awful like this one. But, “It's okay. I don't mind it now.”

“I have a feeling there is a story there.”

“I think you can figure it out on your own.”

He smiled widely, “I think my wife is bossy.”

“And you love it.”

“I do,” he laid back down and stretched his arms over his head. “Best weekend of my life.”

“Okay A: Weekend isn't over, its only Sunday morning and B: how would you know? You have amnesia.”

“Safe bet,” he was playing with the hem of her shirt again, “You have any more of that caramel sauce?”

“Yeah, you need more in your coffee?”

“Not what I had in mind.”

She poked his nose again, once with each word, “Baseball. Shower. Now.”

  
  


Kate

“You're gonna make him sick,” Kate scolded.

Clint scowled at her and handed Lucky the one-eyed wonder dog another pizza crust. “He's fine. He's a pizza dog. Aren't you buddy?”

“He's gonna smell like a toxic dump, Clint. He's not staying in my room tonight.”

The common room was quieter than usual for a Sunday. The entirety of Delta team was still out and Nat and Steve were in Europe. Sam and Daisy were spending a lot of time alone recently. And Darcy hadn't come out of her apartment since her birthday party.

“Have you heard from Bucky today?” Kate asked the room. Tony and Rhodey gave half shakes of their heads and went back to their 3D chess game.

“I know something you don't,” Clint sing-songed and then nodded at one of the entrances.

Kate couldn't believe what she saw. Bucky and Darcy arm in arm, looking very much in love.

Bucky had barely had time to brace himself as Kate launched herself into his arms for a hug.

“You got your memory back!”

Bucky chuckled, “No. No, I didn't.”

She still held on, for some reason she couldn't quite fathom. “So you're probably wondering why I'm hanging on you like a drunk baby sloth?

He laughed again, “Nope. You're just being Kate.”

She was still hugging him, her feet barely touching the ground, as she explained, “I sometimes have an issue with boundaries.”

“It must run in our family.”

She let out a little squeak of joy at this little declaration and then lowered herself to the ground. She looked at him with a little bit of skepticism and then pointed back in forth between him and Darcy, “So. “If you don't remember...?”

“I figured a few things out,” he smiled over at Darcy, who shyly smiled back.

“Yeah,” Kate teased, “I can tell.”

Bucky settled an arm over Kate's shoulder in that big brotherly way she had missed so much. The weight of it was comforting. She'd missed it so much that it almost brought tears to her eyes.

“You figured them out?” Rhodes called from his chair, “Or did someone spill the beans?”

Stark jumped up and initiated a holo screen and started sorting through it, “All right, who told him?”

Clint clapped his hands together and announced, “We've got some payouts coming. I've been dying to know since I came back from that mission. Which I handled alone, by the way, Barnes.”

“And I'm sure you handled it fine, Barton.”

“Did you have a pool?” Darcy asked, sounding rather appalled.

Stark looked nonplussed, “Of course I did.”

“Notice that the odds on me are waaay down at the bottom,” Rhodey pointed out, “Even below the super spies. I am a fortress.”

“You're a man of integrity, Rhodey,” Tony laughed. “Which is why I put my money on you. Big payout.”

“And I notice, Mr. Man of Integrity,” Darcy scolded, “that you have the second-largest bet.”

“You bet that it would be me?” Kate asked. “I'm the odds on favorite? I'm insulted.” She crossed her arms over her chest and mocked, “Well jokes on you guys, because I didn't spill.”

Bucky gave her arm a squeeze.

“Was it Cap?” Clint asked, “Before he and Nat left?”

“Was it Sam?”

“What did I do?” Sam asked as he entered the room.

“Bucky and Darcy are back together,” Kate told him. Bucky gave her another little squeeze before he removed his arm from her shoulders.

“Yeah. I know,” Sam said casually enough to annoy Kate. Before she could yell at him for not telling her, Sam tossed Bucky a baseball cap and asked, “You ready man?”

“Ready when you are.”

Clint wouldn't let it go, “Did you tell?”

Tony agreed, “We need to know. Big money on the line.”

Darcy cocked an eyebrow at Bucky, “Should we tell them?”

“Nah, I say we let them suffer.”

Darcy tucked herself under Bucky's other arm, “You've got a devious mind, babe.”

“I'm a sex fiend and I have a devious mind? What do you see in me?”

Bucky tilted Darcy's chin up for a peck on the lips, which elicited little 'aws' from most of the group but a command from Tony, “No groping in the common room.”

“Is that a real rule?” Bucky asked.

Kate explained, “It actually is. It's called the Romanogers Addendum to the rules of cohabitation.”

“Because Steve is such a stick in the mud?”

“No, because they kept getting busy on the countertops.”

“If someone doesn't tell me right now who told Bucky about Darcy than I'm gonna...” Clint began.

Kate finished, “You're gonna what, fall on the floor kicking and screaming?”

“I might.”

“That is not something I want to see,” Gabe Reyes teased as he came into the room. “Agent Barnes. It's good to see you.”

Bucky nodded a response.

Robbie and Gabe were supposed to be meeting Kate before she gave them an archery lesson. But one Reyes was missing. “Where's your brother?” she asked.

“He got a text and bailed. He does that a lot.”

“Well, his loss,” Kate shrugged. “Come on, let me teach you how to shoot Clint in the ass.”

Bucky gave her a little wink and a smile as she left.

“I still want to know!” She heard Clint yell out.

  
  


Bucky

“My God man, stop,” Sam complained as they walked towards the stadium.

“Stop what?”

“That giddy I-got-laid-big-time goofy-ass floaty thing you're doing.”

Bucky laughed, “Floaty thing?”

“I spend too much time with Kate. But seriously, man. You're just shy of obnoxious.”

“Can't help it.” Bucky shrugged, “I think I'm in love.”

“You think you're in love with your wife? Good to hear.” Sam clapped him on the back.

“You know what I mean. Can't remember the how or why. But I know I'm in love with her. Goddamned dream woman.”

“Sap,” Sam teased.

Bucky stopped walking, “Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask. Ain't gonna guarantee I'm gonna answer.” Sam stopped to look at him.

“Who shot her?”

“Evil scientist.”

“Because of me?”

“No, you idiot. Because she was an _evil scientis_t.”

“And the Dark Elves?”

“Dude you weren't even _you_ yet when _that_ happened. That was all Thor craziness. And so was all the shit with the Destroyer in New Mexico. And Hydra tortured her because of Thor too. So don't start in on the whole 'I'm no good for her' crap you used to pull.”

“How do...”

“Because I _know_ you. You don't remember that, but I do.” Another clap on the shoulder signified that Sam was ready to start walking toward the stadium again.

“Wish I could remember...”

“You will. But in the meantime, know this; Darcy looks like a wide-eyed delicate flower, but she's steel under those curves.

“You been checking out her curves?” Bucky asked, with a half-grin on his face.

“Man, everyone checks out her curves.”

He admitted, “I thought _you_ were her husband, Sam.”

“What?”

“You were sharing the same apartment and...”

“Oh,” Sam cackled, “Oh that's everything. I can't wait to tell Daisy.”

“Sure. Make fun of the amnesiac.”

“Sorry man, just the thought of you being jealous of me and your girl? Pretty damned amusing. You're fucking soulmates. ”

“When I was at the safe house, and I didn't know who I was all I could think about was how lovely she was. And how safe she made me feel,” Bucky admitted, “Not sure I deserve her. Not after everything I've done.”

“Done_ to you_,” Sam corrected. “And she loves you, Barnes. Unconditionally. Even though you're a pain in the ass. Now can we stop talking about dames and go to the game?”

“Dames?”

“I spend to much time with you and Steve, too.”

“About the game...” Bucky broached.

“Don't say it,” Sam warned.

“You know that those guys over there are in the middle of a heist?”

“I know. Damn it.”

“So baseball? Or Avenging?”

“It's our damned day off, Barnes.”

“Do Avengers get a day off?”

“It's the Mets, Bucky. Come on, man! Damn!”

  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from You're My Best Friend by Queen


	19. Beat the Drum and Hold the Phone

Rhodey

“It smells like heaven in here.”

“I'm baking hot dog buns,” Darcy explained. She took a thick rope of dough and twisted it into a pretzel shape and placed it onto a cookie sheet.

“And pretzels, it looks like.”

“The boys missed the game,” Darcy nodded towards the television where the news was playing a story about how Barnes and Wilson thwarted a heist at the stadium.

“Your assistant is handling the press conference?” He watched for a bit, “he's not as good as you.”

“He's a work in progress.”

Rhodes studied her for a bit. He'd been gone for over a month, watching Derrick Bishop as he was undercover with HYDRA. Elena, Mack, and Hope had relieved him a few days ago. Scott needed a break from being miniaturized. And Rhodey had needed a break from Scott.

Tony had told him about how sad Darcy had been. But he hadn't really seen it for himself until her birthday party. At the beginning of the night it had been obvious she was in pain. She put on her usual smile. Her wit was as sharp as ever. But there was a heaviness to her mood that he had hardly ever seen. Even with the revelation that Barnes had figured out who she was to him, there was still a cautiousness about her that he wasn't used to seeing.

She had also lost weight, and not in a good way. “You been taking care of yourself, Darce?”

“Yeah. What makes you ask?” She pushed her glasses up on her nose. That was another thing. She'd worn contacts for as long as he knew her. She only wore the glasses when she'd been crying a lot or hadn't been sleeping.

“Been out of the loop. Wasn't sure how you were handling things.”

“You mean Bucky's amnesia?” Darcy shrugged dismissively. “It sucked. But he knows I'm his wife now. We're good.”

It didn't escape Rhodey's attention that she had kept her eyes diligently downward as she spoke. He challenged her with, “Are you?”

“I'm good, Rhodes. We just had a perfect weekend. Really.”

“That's good. But you're still experiencing a loss. And it's okay for you to be not okay.”

Darcy admitted quietly, “He doesn't remember the year in the Soul Stone either. It's like he's...starting all over. But I'm not.”

“C'mere kid.” He hugged her gently.

"How'd you know I needed a hug?"

“Hey, I may not be the smartest one around here, but I_ am_ observant."

"One weekend,” she whispered, “That's all the memories he has of us. All of our history, it's gone." And then, even more quietly, she asked, "What if he changes his mind?”

Rhodey hugged her again and assured her, “He won't.”

She pulled back and smiled faintly, “What makes you so sure, James Rhodes?”

"That man has been looking at you like you're the sun itself for as long as he's known you. And that hasn't changed. Okay?" He reached forward and pulled on a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail.

"You want me to save you a pretzel?”

“I do. And I want you to promise you'll find me if you need an ear."

Sam

“I'm real sorry, Sam,” Bucky laughed as they walked into the common area.

“You're not sorry,” Sam laughed back.

“Nope,” Bucky laughed again, “I'm not. That was fun. Dumb ass robbers didn't know what hit them.”

The most wonderful smell hit Sam's nostrils and he took a deep breath. He followed his nose to the bar area, where an amazing spread of food awaited. “What's this?”

“Baseball food,” Darcy explained, “Big old soft pretzels. Oven-baked chili dogs. And Moose Munch. Way better than Cracker Jacks. We DVR'd the game for you guys.”

“Darce, you did all this?” Sam asked with genuine delight.

“What am I? Chopped liver?” Daisy rolled up a towel and snapped Sam with it, “I'll have you know I assembled the dogs. And I bought the Moose Munch and the beer.”

“You're officially the best girlfriend on the planet, Baby Girl.” He surveyed the chili dogs more closely. “Are those fresh-baked buns?”

“Okay, fine, Darcy baked the buns.” Daisy threw her hands up with mock exasperation. “And the pretzels. And the chili is from a can. I don't cook, okay?”

“You have other very fine talents.”

“Mmm hmm. Fix me a plate, Sam. I'll meet you on the couch.” She took two beers with her.

“How many dogs?” he called after her.

“Three.”

“She wants three. I love that woman.”

Sam was digging into the oven-baked chili dogs, four for him and three for Daisy.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Bucky reached for Darcy and kissed her forehead. Sam smiled to himself. Life was getting normal again.

“Sam texted you?” Bucky asked.

“Nope. Was on the news. Can't take you anywhere, can we? We recorded the game for you boys, though. But if you still want your man-date, Daisy and I will just...”

“Stay,” Sam insisted. “You did all this work. We'll just make it a double date.”

“Yeah?” Darcy asked, “Do you mind, babe?”

“Do we mind if two gorgeous ladies join us for baseball and beer?” Bucky draped his arm over Darcy's shoulders, “I don't know. Sounds awful.”

It almost felt like old times. Especially when Kate joined them, sitting on the floor at Bucky's feet, armed with a throw pillow to smack Sam with.

  
  


Miles

“I'm sorry, Mr. Stark,” Miles pulled his hoodie tighter over his head as he said it, twisting the strings in his hands.

“It's a good suit,” Stark exclaimed, his hands flying upwards in frustration.

It wasn't a long or even a difficult mission, but it had been Miles's first without the other spiders. But all Mr. Stark seemed to want to do is scold him about altering the suit.

“It is,” Miles agreed. “And I'm super thankful.”

“Better than Parker's.”

Miles glanced around the room. Charlie team was engrossed in a baseball game on the big screen. And Darcy was behind the bar, pulling something out of the oven “It's an awesome suit, Mr. Stark. Really.”

“I don't get you, kid.”

And with that, Mr. Stark walked away. Miles briefly thought about hiding somewhere. But there was something about the soft smile on Darcy's face. So he went over to the bar and sat on a stool. He propped his elbows on the shiny surface, rested his chin in his hands and let out a sigh.

“Hey...want a pretzel?”

She slid a big, fresh-baked pretzel on a plate in front of him.

“Yeah. Thanks, Darcy.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“You wouldn't understand.”

“I got my boobs when I was twelve”

Miles felt himself blush with embarrassment but Darcy kept talking, “When I was in high school, all of the girls were stick thin. And there I was with my thighs and hips... I felt like a cow. A cow that mattered about 'this much'.” She held her thumb and forefinger about an inch apart. “I get it Miles. And I'm not gonna say that it's all going to get better and suddenly you'll look like you belong on the cover of a Harlequin Romance novel. But one day you'll just say screw it, and be happy with who you are. Some days its harder to do that than others.”

“You still...?” Miles asked, in disbelief that Darcy had body insecurities.

“Yeah, I mean, I'm not tiny like Nat or Jane. I'm not statuesque like Pepper or Hope. Or athletic like Daisy or Kate. Sometimes, being comfortable in my body is a struggle. Especially when the magazines tell me I shouldn't be.”

Miles smiled at her, “I think you're really beautiful.”

“Thanks, Miles. And you do _whatever_ you need to to feel comfortable in your own skin. And if that means changing up your suit? Then do it. I'll talk to Tony for you.”

“Thanks, Darcy. You're kind of awesome.” He stuffed a large piece of pretzel into his mouth.

“I have my moments.”

Sam

“She's amazing,” Bucky shook his head in awe.

Sam looked over at him and replied, “Hmm?”

Truth be told Sam probably couldn't have heard Darcy's conversation with Miles even if Daisy and Kate hadn't been chatting about the designated hitter and whether that was ruining the game. Barnes sometimes forgot that his super-soldier hearing gave him an ability to eavesdrop.

But Sam was perceptive, and he could see Miles and Darcy talking and could tell from their body language some context of the conversation.

“I ever tell you about the first time I met Darcy?”

“How would I know if you had, Birdbrain?”

“Good point.”

_Barnes was really pale. Scary pale. He looked worse than Steve did in the hospital after Washington. Dr. Palmer said that she had pulled out seventeen bullets that had ripped through his vibranium arm and into his chest. Three pierced his heart. She said it would have killed anyone else. Maybe even Steve since Bucky's arm had slowed the velocity of the bullets considerably._

_Curled up in the armchair next to his bed was a woman that Sam didn't recognize. She had a book falling out of her hand and was sound asleep._

_She was pretty. Milky white skin. Dark brunette waves. Full lips. _

_She had a locked IV inserted in her forearm and dark circles under her eyes._

_Sam made the connection. Darcy Lewis, Dr. Foster's assistant. Hydra had tortured her to get cooperation from Dr. Foster. _

_Sam didn't know she knew Barnes. He took one step and her eyes fluttered open. They were big and blue. She really was pretty, Sam mused._

“_Hey,” he said quietly._

“_Sorry,” she untangled herself from the chair. “I should...”_

“_Didn't know you knew him.”_

_Darcy rolled her neck a bit, to work out the stiffness. “I don't. I just...I don't really want to be alone.”_

“_But you don't want everyone always asking you how you're doing either.”_

“_So, is that your superpower? Mind reading?”_

“_Nah. Just a soldier. What about you?”_

“_I'm no superhero. I'm no one really.”_

“_Now why don't I believe that?”_

“We talked for a couple of hours. And I ain't gonna lie, I had a crush for a minute. Not just because she was pretty. But because she was kind. And strong. Found out later she was funny as hell. But the way she looked at you... Hell, she hadn't even seen you conscious yet, and she was smitten. No one else had a chance with her.”

“You trying to tell me I'm a lucky man?”

“I'm trying to remind you of it. You know, in case you forgot.”

“I did. But I know it now.”

Sam held out his beer bottle for Bucky to clink his against. His friend obliged. Sam settled into the cushions and listened to Kate and Daisy bicker like sisters. Darcy came back over and settled into Bucky's lap and swung her legs into Sam's, making a little 'rub my feet' gesture. Things were good.

Until a voice from one of the entrances called out, “Hey Kate? My phone is acting weird.”

Their heads all swiveled to see Robbie standing there.

Bucky's eyes locked with his.

And Sam muttered, “Aw shit.”

  
  


  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Centerfield, by John Fogerty


	20. Love of Two is One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I stole a line from Buffy. And I'm not sorry.

Darcy

Darcy was getting sick of 'shushing' her friends.

Robbie and Bucky were sitting on opposite couches, with a coffee table between them. Their voices were low as if they didn't care that everyone present was desperately trying to eavesdrop.

“How have they not run into each other yet?” Daisy asked.

Kate explained, “Friday. She's been running interference, texting Robbie when Bucky is nearby.”

“Shh.”

Darcy caught the next bit of the conversation.

“Did you have a choice?” Bucky asked.

“Yes.” Then Robbie shook his head, “No... I just wanted to save my brother.”

Bucky let out a little half-snort, “Yeah. My idiot best pal just wanted to save the world when he got his powers.”

Sam huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, “Best pal? Well, I feel under-appreciated.”

Daisy rolled her eyes at her beau, “He barely remembers you, Sam.”

“Yeah, well, I didn't abandon my 'best pal' in the future so I could go back and romance a _girl_.”

Darcy turned to Sam and hissed in disbelief in Steve's defense, “That was a completely different world in the multiverse!”

Stubbornly, Sam stated, “He still did it.”

Daisy laced her arm around Sam's and told him, “You know, Mary Jane told me that you're Captain America on Earth 65”

“Really?”

“You're also a chick named Samantha.”

Sam took a few beats and then asked, “Am I cute?”

“Would you two shut up?”Darcy growled, “I'm trying to eavesdrop.”

Unfortunately, the conversation appeared to be over. The two men stood, shook hands, and then Bucky said, “Come on Reyes, we've got two more innings to watch.”

They all sat on the couch or floor, arranging themselves in front of the television.

Bucky took Darcy's hand and raised it to his lips. Without words, he told her that they could talk later.

And, very very softly, Darcy heard Robbie say to Kate, “I think he broke my hand when he shook it.”

* * *

Darcy awoke in the middle of the night, alone in bed, except for Gretel, who was curled up on Bucky's pillow. She reached out to touch his side of the bed. It was still warm.

She found him sitting on the couch, staring at the slideshow on her laptop. “Babe?”

“I was happy,” he said.

“Was?” she replied, trying to hide her worry.

“Am. The last few days... today...I've been so happy. But...”

Darcy sat down next to him on the couch, curling against his side. She pulled the throw off the back of the couch and draped it over their shoulders.

“I don't deserve it, Darcy. I don't deserve you.”

“That's not true, Bucky.”

“Robbie has a demon inside him. He didn't have any control over the things he did. But I did.”

“You didn't,” and she repeated it again more firmly, “You didn't.”

“There wasn't any monster inside me, except for _me_.” He rocked back and forth ever so slightly, “I knew... I knew it was wrong. What they had me do. Part of me was still there and I knew it was wrong. I should have...”

“You should have what?” She stopped him, by putting one hand against his back and the other on his chest.

“Fought back,” he said it so quietly that Darcy had to strain to hear, even in the silence of the apartment.

“You did fight back,” she asserted. “HYDRA recorded pretty much everything. I _saw you_ fight back.”

“You saw?” The idea seemed to horrify him, “What they did to me?”

“Yeah. I saw. I cried for a week straight when I first saw that footage. And I didn't even know you then.” She rubbed circles on his back and continued, “I saw them punish you for fighting back. I saw them erase your personality from your own body. And it never completely worked. Because you were strong, and you _fought back_.”

“Yeah,” he wiped an errant tear from his face, “I didn't do a very good job of it.”

“You're here now, aren't you? You won, babe. You fought back and you won.” She guided his head to her shoulder and he leaned into it. Darcy pulled him down with her as she laid down on the couch. Bucky kept his head nestled on her shoulder and allowed her to tangle their limbs together.

“I'm sorry, sweetheart. I shouldn't burden...”

“You finish that sentence and I'll kick your ass, Bucky Barnes.” She ran her fingers across the nape of his neck. “We take care of each other. That's the kind of marriage we have. You got it?”

“Yes, ma'am.” He sighed. He snuggled against her tighter. “You'll kick my ass, huh?”

“You betcha.”

He nuzzled his cheek against her shoulder, “Tell me a memory.”

“Want to hear one where I kick your ass?”

“No, something else,” he chuckled.

“Good. Because I've never actually kicked your ass. But I could. Never forget it. Oh! But I kicked Jack Rollins ass once! You remember him?”

“How could I forget?” he replied sleepily.

“So he tried to capture you at Jessica's apartment. She could kick your ass, by the way. And he had a gun on you. And I tazed him. Bam. Down he went. That's actually it. The whole story. Sorry. Not a good one. Oh! But Jane cold-cocked him. That was awesome.”

He snorted a laugh and said, “Your storytelling skills are lacking.”

“He says un-ironically to the person who writes the Avengers press releases.”

His voice was deepening as sleep started to creep up on him. “How about our honeymoon?”

“It was a lovely hotel room.”

“Where did we go?”

“Umm....we had a lovely hotel room.”

He chuckled again, against her shoulder. “Our wedding day?” he mumbled, letting sleep overtake him.

“Which one?” she whispered.

Bucky  
  


_Bucky stared out at the orange skyline, extending out as far as the eye could see. He'd lost track of how long they'd been here. Sam had guessed nine months, but it was just a guess. They'd all settled into daily routines. They'd formed a community. And the non-science types were beginning to accept the fact that they'd probably be living in the Soul Stone forever. _

_Gamora was still pushing the scientists to find a way back to the real world. _

“_I never thought I'd say this, but I am tired of science,” Shuri sat down on the ground, next to Bucky. Peter Parker sat down next to her. “Brother, why are you so white?”_

“_Oh my god, Shuri, you can't just ask people why they're white!” Peter descended into giggles, no doubt because of some pop culture reference that Bucky didn't understand._

_Shuri rolled her eyes. “Yes, very amusing Peter. Brother? Are you all right?”_

“_I don't deserve her,” Bucky said quietly to himself._

“_What did you say?” Shuri asked. Bucky wasn't sure if it was because she didn't hear him, or because she was going to scold him. He suspected the latter._

_In his fist, he had clenched a ring that Gamora conjured for him. He opened his hand to reveal it._

“_Is that what I think it is?” Peter asked, with a pleased grin on his face._

_Bucky looked to Shuri with panicked eyes, “What if she says no?”_

“_That's not going to happen,” she promised him. “And you do deserve her. And what's more, she deserves a kind, loving man like you, my sweet friend.”_

_He put his arm around her and kissed her forehead, “Don't deserve you either, Princess.”_

“_None of us deserve Shuri,” Peter said softly, with a smile._

“_And I don't know what I've done to deserve all of you colossal pains in the buttocks!” She laughed, breaking the tension, “A girl can only take so many overprotective males in her life.”_

“_So how are you gonna do it?” Peter asked._

“_What?”_

“_How are you going to propose?”_

“_I was gonna get down on one knee and ask her to marry me. Is there another way?”_

“_Oh my gosh, yes,” Peter stammered. Bucky smiled at his use of the word 'gosh'. “People go all out with big productions for prom. And this is way bigger than that. You need balloons for sure. And a skywriter.”_

“_Peter,” Shuri scolded. “That's not Bucky. Or Darcy, for that matter. One knee and ask her. That's all you need to do.”_

“_That's all I need to do,” he repeated._

* * *

Bucky woke with a cramp in his neck and a weight on his chest. The cramp was from sleeping on the couch at an odd angle. The weight was furry and warm, and purring.

“Mornin' fuzzball,” he muttered.

He glanced around for Darcy but found a note on the coffee table instead.

_ **'Babe,** _

_ **Had to head into work. Get some well-deserved rest. Have some well-deserved fun with Sam.** _

_ **I'll be home at four for some well-deserved lovin'. See what I did there?** _

_ **D'** _

Bucky rearranged himself on the couch to a more comfortable position with minimal jostling of Gretel. He closed his eyes again and drifted back off.

* * *

_Of course, the fact that he was pale and shaky with nervous energy didn't escape Darcy's eagle eyes. She put her hand on his forehead to check for a fever immediately after she gave him a kiss hello. _

“_Babe are you okay? Are you sick?”_

“_Not sick. I'm already better.” And it was true. Her grounding presence made him feel less shaky. Although, admittedly, he still had butterflies in his stomach._

“_Good. Because you getting sick would put a wrench in my 'we're dead' theory.”_

“_We're not dead,” he argued back. Smiling at their ongoing joke. _

“_Big pile of dust, Babe.”_

“_How would you feel about being Mr. & Mrs. Big Pile of Dust?”_

“_What?” Darcy's mouth dropped open._

“_Darcy...” Bucky held the ring in his fingers but didn't have time to get down on one knee before she responded._

“_Yes!”_

“_I didn't ask yet,” he chuckled._

“_Then ask! Ask!”_

“_You're so bossy.”_

_She wrapped her arms around his neck and declared, “And you love it.”_

“_I love you,” he corrected. With this declaration, both of them started to well up with tears of happiness._

“_Ask...please?” She took a step back, allowing him to kneel down in front of her with the ring outstretched._

“_Will you marry...”_

“_Yes,” she sniffled._

“_Me?”_

“_Yes,” she repeated, dropping to her knees and throwing her arms around him. _

“_I can't believe you want me,” he whispered._

“_I'll always want you,” she whispered back._

* * *

Bucky awakened without the stiffness in his neck. The weight had moved up to his shoulder. Gretel had her cheek pressed against his and she was purring and drooling into his ear. Occasionally a paw would reach down and pat his shoulder and she'd let out a little 'mrowr'.

“Demon fuzzball,” he muttered. At this she shot off of him and jumped onto the counter next to her food bowl, screaming at him to fill it, lest she starve.

“Darcy didn't feed you? I find that hard to believe.”

Sure enough, there was a note in the bottom of her dish that said;

_ **'Don't let her con you. Love you.'** _

“Love you too,” he said aloud. Bucky sighed and looked around their apartment with a smile. Life was good. Maybe he should learn to accept that.

* * *

Hydra facility- New Orleans  
  


Otto Vermis never considered it strange that he was talking to a computer program.

There were many other things that were stranger than Zola.

For example, the boy that was currently unconscious in the chair. A boy whose powers came from magic. A boy who could disappear into a dark realm and reappear somewhere else.

A boy whose partner in crime was currently driving him crazy. “Someone please tranquilize that banshee!”

“They're very attached to each other,” Zola mused. “Light and dark. Yin and Yang.”

“I don't like messing with magic, Zola.”

“Magic is just science that hasn't been explained yet,” Zola said.

“The girl has too much willpower for my taste. She's going to be a problem. We should cut them both loose.”

“No, Mr. Vermis. The boy is the key. With him, I can retrieve my Asset.”

“Why the obsession with this one Asset, when we can create more?”

“Because, Otto, he is mine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Don't Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult


	21. Oh, A Storm is Threat'ning

Two weeks later

Bucky

Bucky was beginning to come to terms with the fact that his memory probably wasn't going to come completely back. But it didn't seem to matter now. What mattered was her. His wife. And the secret he knew she was keeping.

He stood in the door of their bedroom and watched her sleep for a few more precious seconds. He was already dressed and ready to go out to the quinjet.

He didn't need to remember their past to know that leaving on a mission without waking her wouldn't go over well. But she looked so peaceful.

Suddenly going out on missions seemed like an unnecessary risk. If it had been any mission but this one...

He couldn't put it off any longer. He knelt next to the bed and brushed the hair away from her face. “Darce, sweetheart?”

“Mmmm?” She stretched but kept her eyes stubbornly closed.

“Being called out.”

Her eyes snapped open, wide with worry, “A mission?”

She sat up as he explained, “Hydra. Derrick Bishop was just at a facility in New Orleans.” Bucky sighed and told her, “Darcy, Zola is experimenting on kids. I have to go.”

“Go,” she ran her thumb down the cleft in his chin, “And come back safe.”

“I promise.”

“I'll hold you to it.”

“Promise you'll go to medical today?”

“It was a stomach bug, babe. Stop being a worrywart.”

“A worrywart and a sex fiend. Are you sure you want to put up with me?”

“Yep. Forever and ever, Agent Barnes. Come home soon.”

He allowed himself one soft kiss and left without looking back.

* * *

The HYDRA base smelled like death. Bodies littered the floor.

“Cyanide,” Sam muttered as he stepped over a fallen soldier.

Bucky shut out the scent and focused on the task. Find the kids. He'd seen death. It didn't bother him anymore, as long as it wasn't at his hand.

He turned right and was stopped by Kate, “Don't go in there Bucky Bear.”

“That where they have the chair?” he asked gruffly.

She nodded stiffly.

“Won't go in there then.”

A left hand turn and then another and he found a closed door.

Leather straps bound the girl's hands and feet to the frame of a bed with a thin, filthy mattress. An IV was in her arm. Bruises, familiar ones, were on her forehead and cheek. “No,” she pleaded, without opening her eyes, “No more, please.”

“It's all right, pumpkin, I'm not one of them.” His fingers moved to the straps, gently working the buckles without pulling on her limbs. “Gonna get you out of here.”

Her skin was deathly pale, her hair was greasy and her eyes looked at him as if she wasn't seeing. Bucky had her hands unbound and was moving towards her ankles when she grabbed his arm.

“Ty. You need to help Ty.”

Bucky smoothed her hair away from her face and tried to picture how Darcy would soothe the girl. “Got three other Avengers out there, gonna help whoever needs help. Right now, you need to let me help you. Okay?”

She conceded and closed her eyes again before they snapped open, “Hydra...”

“It's okay. We've got them on the run. Let me help you.” He helped her sit up and dangle her feet off the mattress.

“Take my hand?” she asked quietly.

Bucky expected it was so he could help her up. But once his hand was in hers she closed her eyes and said faintly, “There's nothing...” Her eyes welled up with tears. “My abilities are gone.”

“Smartest people in the world are in Avengers tower, pumpkin. We'll get em back. If you want em. But first I need to get you disconnected from all of this. Gonna take the tape off first. The cotton ball here is for pressure when I take the IV out. Okay?”

She nodded.

“You got a name?”

“Tandy.”

“All right, Tandy. I'm gonna pull this IV out real gentle and tape the cotton ball down. Shouldn't hurt a bit.” He got the IV out and the cotton ball taped down with enough pressure that she wouldn't bleed. “See? All better. Can you walk?” She tried to stand and wobbled. So Bucky scooped her up in his arms. “Okay pumpkin, up you go. Want you to do something for me. We're gonna go through the building to get to the jet, but I want you to close your eyes tight and keep 'em closed.”

The last thing the girl needed was to see a room full of bodies.

“Okay... “ She blinked at him a few times. Studying his features she asked, “Are you Bucky Barnes?”

“I am. Ready to close your eyes, Tandy?”

“Ready.”

  
  


Daisy

One survivor.

The information from Derrick Bishop relayed through Mack, had said there were two kids here. Bucky had the girl in his arms. But the boy was nowhere to be found. And there were no HYDRA survivors to question. This mission had sucked. The girl was the only bright spot.

And that girl was so traumatized that she wouldn't relinquish her grip on Bucky, not for anything.

She was too weak to stand, so he carried her like a child into the quinjet. Daisy tried to get her onto a biobed but the girl looked panicked at the idea. So Bucky sat her down next to him, her legs swung across his lap and her head against his shoulder while Daisy scanned her for injuries. The girl looked more like a seven-year-old than a seventeen-year-old as she clutched his arm like it was a teddy bear.

“Ty?” She asked her eyes heavy and drifting shut.

“I'm sorry,” Daisy said, “We haven't found him yet. But we will.”

“They broke him,” she whispered as she fell asleep, clutching onto Bucky's arm for dear life.

Daisy sighed with frustration, “She's dehydrated Barnes, among other things. We should start IV fluids.”

“Just took an IV out of her Quake. God knows what they were pumping in. Can't stand the thought of poking and prodding her any more than we have to. Can it wait?”

She rubbed the back of her neck, “I don't know, Buck.”

“I'll take the heat from Dr. Palmer.”

“Let's get her back to the Tower while Sam and Kate do recon,” Daisy offered.

“You okay leaving them alone?”

“Only sign of life is us,” Daisy shrugged. “They've got the Rover.”

“Nah, don't want to leave them without the jet. Got a better idea.”

Daisy smiled, knowing exactly what Bucky had in mind. He couldn't reach his phone without jostling the girl. So Daisy nodded, “Yeah. I'll call Darcy.”

  
  


Darcy

The common area had a great view of the landing pad. It made it hard for Darcy not to look over at the sky to watch for a returning quinjet. It was too soon, she wasn't expecting Bucky back for hours. And it was rude.

She was having coffee with Miles's mom, Rio Morales. The whole family had recently moved into the Tower after Rio had taken a position in medical. Darcy was doing her darnedest to make her feel at home. But she couldn't help those occasional glances out the window.

“I don't know how you handle it, watching your husband take off on dangerous missions,” Rio commented sipping her coffee knowingly.

“Ok, so A: Your husband is a cop. And B: How do you handle sending off your kid?”

“Oh, I'm not handling it,” she laughed. “I don't know how I ended up with a superhero son. But I trust him.”

“He's a great kid.”

With a little eye roll, Rio said, “Someone tell Stark that.”

“Oh Tony knows, he just can be a little too brusque. It's because he cares.”

“I know,” Rio admitted, scratching Gretel under the chin.

Darcy's phone rang and she looked at her new friend apologetically. A quick glance at the caller ID and Darcy answered in a panic, “Is he okay?”

Over the phone connection, Daisy promised, “He's fine. But he needs a quick ride home for this kid we rescued. Can you send the demon fuzzball and have medical on standby?”

“Sending her now, and Nurse Morales is with me.”

“Ten-four,” Daisy said brusquely and the line went dead.

Darcy looked her flerken in the eye and said firmly, “You're daddy needs you, Gretel. Go.”

Rio stood and exclaimed, “Your cat just disappeared. Did you see that?”

Calmly, Darcy told her, “One of the kids HYDRA experimented on is going to be here any second. She needs medical attention.”

“Your cat just disappeared,” Rio repeated, dumbfounded. She jumped almost out of her skin when Bucky materialized with a girl in his arms and Gretel in the girl's lap.

“Holy shit!” At the sight of her patient, Rio's demeanor changed into pure professionalism. “Sorry! I'll grab a gurney.”

“Get a wheelchair instead,” Darcy instructed, knowing full well how traumatizing medical equipment could be to a HYDRA captive..

“It's all right, Darce, I can carry her to our apartment,” Bucky was already halfway across the room as he said it.

“Apartment? No. She needs to go to medical,” Miles's mom insisted.

“That's the last thing she needs right now.”

“He's right,” Darcy put her hand on Rio's arm. “The stress of seeing all that medical equipment, the environment... if she's been through what Bucky has it would probably cause a panic attack.”

“I'll grab a kit and meet you at your place then. Palmer is going to kill me.”

“I can deal with Christine,” Darcy promised.

“Good, because I don't want to get fired my first week on the job.”

  
  


Bucky

Bucky checked on Tandy's IV fluids at least once every ten minutes. He'd argued with Rio about inserting an IV and drawing blood for a tox screen. But she hadn't backed down, and honestly, she calmed Tandy with her gentle professionalism.

Tandy had been asleep for hours, but Bucky kept going into the guest room to check on her.

Darcy approached him and wrapped her arms around his waist, settling her cheek against his back. “Are you okay, babe?”

“No,” he growled out. “Jesus Darcy, she's just a kid. Miles and Gwen are just kids. At least I was a soldier.”

“Doesn't make what they did to you any less horrible.”

His left fist clenched at his side. “I have to stop them.”

“I know. But you don't have to do it alone.”

Tandy stirred and her big brown eyes darted around, panicked, “Where...?”

Bucky sat on the edge of her bed and took her hand, “You're safe pumpkin. You remember me?”

She nodded slowly a small smile creeping across her face. “You're Agent Barnes.”

“Just call me Bucky. This is my wife, Darcy.”

She smiled faintly at Darcy too, “I've seen you on TV. Am I in Avengers Tower?”

“Mmm-hmm,” Darcy gave her a wink. “And I'm going to make you some Avengers soup and a cup of Avengers tea.”

He smiled fondly at Darcy as she walked away but said, “You'll have to excuse my wife, she's a bit of a smart ass.”

Tandy tried to sit up and Bucky stuffed a few pillows behind her back to help.

“I like her already,” Tandy said.

“Yeah me too.”

As soon as Bucky met her eyes again, Tandy asked, “Ty?”

Bucky shook his head. “We haven't found him yet. But we will.”

She nodded stoically, but the tear that escaped her eye betrayed that stoicism. She quickly wiped that tear away. “Can we get this thing out of my arm?” she asked, eyeballing the IV.

“You have to drink first, then we'll call Doc Palmer,” Darcy said as she came back in the room, handing Tandy a cup of warm tea. Darcy sat on the bed, on the other side of Tandy but facing her, “Tell me about Ty.”

Bucky shot her a surprised look, he would have avoided that topic. But Tandy actually brightened.

“He's my best friend. My soulmate. That sounds lame...” she smiled into her mug of tea.

“No. I get it,” Darcy assured her.

Tandy looked back and forth at her two hosts. “Yeah. I can see that.”

She took another sip and then said, “Thanks for the tea. And the bed. I'll get out of your hair as soon as I can. I have to find Ty.”

Bucky could see Darcy open her mouth to say something that probably would have been perfect. But he spoke first, “Pumpkin, you aren't in anyone's hair. I've been through the same shit you have. And I'm here to help you. And find your friend too. Please. Let me help you. I need to.”

She blinked a few times and opened her mouth to respond. But then she closed it and just nodded once. She opened her mouth again and let out a huge yawn.

“Get some sleep, Tandy,” Darcy gently commanded, taking the teacup from her and setting it on the nightstand.

Darcy reached her hand out to Bucky. “Come on babe, she needs her rest.”

  
  


HYDRA base, unknown location

“Are you sure that abandoning the girl was a good idea?”

“Otto, you were begging me to abandon her,” Zola replied, “She served her purpose. We needed the boy. We used her pain to break him.”

“And Derrick Bishop?”

“We know now that he has betrayed HYDRA, as we suspected. We can keep dropping breadcrumbs until we have the Avengers where we want them.”

“Like pieces on a chessboard.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones


	22. Pleased to Meet You...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long... got hit with the flu

Darcy

Darcy felt Bucky's hands pulling her hair away from her face as she heaved into the toilet. He held her hair back, reached over and flushed and even gave her a cool rag.

As he pressed the rag against her forehead, his voice rumbled in her ear, “It's not a stomach bug is it, sweetheart?”

Darcy shook her head, staring into the clean water. “Rio ran the test yesterday, was gonna tell you last night. But...”

“But we had a guest.”

“I'm so sorry,” she examined the tile floor as she tried to explain, “We'd been trying for over a year....honestly we weren't sure if Hydra had done too much to you...”

“So...the baby is Sam's then?”

She finally raised her eyes to look at him. He had a shit-eating grin on his face. “Jerk! I was worried you'd be upset.”

“I'm so happy I could bust.” He took her face in his hands.

She put one of her hands over her mouth to block the kiss.“Don't kiss me! I just threw up.”

“Don't care. Come here.”

“No! Ew!”

“Shhh,” He laughed, “You'll wake Tandy.” He grabbed the mouthwash and handed it to her while simultaneously holding a hand out to help her to her feet. “Take a swig of this and hurry up about it, because I ain't waiting much longer for that kiss.”

She did a quick swish and spit and before she could finish asking, “Happy?” he was kissing her, slow and deep. His hands roved her curves and Darcy couldn't help the soft humming noises that escaped her.

“I'm fucking ecstatic,” he murmured against her lips.

“You sure?” she asked, pulling back just enough to look up into his eyes.

“I'm sure,” he responded, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Are you?”

“Me? As far as I'm concerned this is a goddamned miracle. We really weren't sure if we could. But, for you... I mean you only remember the last two weeks and a long weekend with me. Now you're married with a kid on the way. I'm sorry, Bucky.....”

“So how far along...?”

“Not very. Like...eight weeks. I just need you to know that I wasn't trying to trap or manipulate...”

“Hush. I know that.”

“First missed period, I figured it was just the stress. I didn't start to start to suspect until about two weeks ago. Around the time you came back to me. If I'd known I wouldn't have drank like a fish that night with Sam and Kate. That was irresponsible and stupid.”

“I can't imagine how I would have functioned if I'd lost you the way you lost me. Probably would forget to even breathe. I'm sure I would have done a lot of stupid shit.” He pulled her close. Her eyes stung a little from the look of pure adoration he gave her. “I'm still not sure I deserve all this wonderful, darlin'.”

“You deserve all the wonderful, Bucky.”

“Gonna kiss you again, Mrs. Barnes.” After another long adoring kiss, he handed her her toothbrush. “On second thought...”

She laughed as she took it from his hands.“You're such a jerk.”

This time it was Bucky that was too loud, as he let out a barking laugh.

She smacked him on the chest with her toothbrush. “Shh. You'll wake Tandy.” Darcy started brushing her teeth. As she brushed, she spoke through the suds, “You know what’s funny babe? Back in L.A., you complained about not being able to have really loud sex because of the teenage girl in the next room. Now here we are, full circle.”

Bucky looked at her with amused skepticism as he leaned against the vanity. “It was you who complained about not being able to have really loud sex, wasn’t it?”

“Shut up. Smartass.” She tossed a towel at him.

“Guess we managed though...”

“That we did.”

* * *

It was around ten when Tandy emerged from the guest bedroom. She looked infinitely better, just being clean and rested. Still, the shadows under her cheekbones and circles under her eyes were obvious.

“Oh good! You're up. How are you feeling today?”Darcy placed a bowl of porridge on the table and indicated to Tandy that she should sit.

“Like I've been hit by a small bus. Which is better than yesterday when I felt like I had been hit by a large bus.”

“We're starting simple this morning. Don't want to shock your stomach. Bucky made porridge.”

Tandy took a spoonful and tipped it, watching as the mush fell back into the bowl. “What the hell is porridge anyway?”

“Right? I've been married to the man for two years and I still don't know. It's just a canvas for sugar, in my opinion.” As Darcy talked, Tandy took a small bite.

“Clearly,” She made a happy face at the taste of the sugar and just as quickly as it appeared, her smile fell. “I need to find Ty. I should get back to New Orleans.”

“You can go if you want. But we're going to be looking for him too. So if you want to stay....take advantage of the resources that are available here, we'd love to have you.”

“Thanks,” Tandy sighed. “Thanks for the clothes. I'm assuming these are yours?”

“You assume correctly. But Pepper sent her assistant out for clothes for you. We can set you up with your own place too when you're up to it. But I've got to be honest, I think Bucky wants to look after you. He's in full-blown Papa Bear mode.”

“Where is he?”

“Debriefing.”

With a mouthful of porridge, Tandy commented, “You say Papa Bear like he's taken in strays before.”

“Ah. Yes. Well, Kate was originally Clint's stray, but Bucky kind of adopted her. Shuri's not exactly a stray but... He's way protective. Then we picked up Gwen and Miles. And even though they both have loving parents...Papa Bucky Bear struck again.”

“So I'm not the first Pumpkin?”

“You are though. He doesn't recycle nicknames.”

“What does he call you?”

“Um...Darlin' mostly.”

Tandy narrowed her eyes and pointed her spoon at Darcy. “You paused.”

“Um, Bucky has had some memory loss recently. He used to call me Sassy, but....”

“But he doesn't remember that?” Tandy's eyes widened with sympathy.

“Nah,” Darcy gave a dismissive wave, “He doesn't remember anything of our lives. Not meeting me, falling in love, getting married. It's all gone.”

“But you're so... you seem so in love.”

“We are. Third times a charm.”

“Third? There's a story there, isn't there?”

“Oh yeah. How about you and Ty?” Darcy asked, stirring more sugar into her porridge.

“We were in an accident together when we were kids. That's how we got our powers.”

“You've been best friends since you were children?”

“Oh. No. We met again later. I picked his pocket,” she admitted, without a trace of remorse.

“Bucky drove me off a cliff.”

This made Tandy smile and the smile actually stayed. “What?”

“There's a story there too,” Darcy winked at the girl. She liked her. She had this weird desire to protect her. But still, Tandy wasn't going to wait much longer before she took off after her friend. So Darcy offered, “Wanna join the debrief?”

“Um,” Tandy looked down at her borrowed yoga pants and t-shirt.

Darcy had no intention of making her walk to the room in her weakened state though, “Friday? Can we join the situation room?”

“Connecting you now....”

Darcy didn't miss the little 'wow' that escaped from Tandy as the dining room table projected a life-sized holo image of the briefing room.

They joined the debrief in progress. Tony was saying, “...Tyrone was a wanted cop killer.”

“He was framed and exonerated!” Tandy exclaimed indignantly.

“I said _was_...And you’ve got a colorful history too young lady.” Tony was actually wagging his finger at her, which Darcy found amusing.

“Whatever” Tandy crossed her arms over her chest and reminded him, “You were an arms dealer.”

“A legal arms dealer!”

Tandy pointed around the room, “Soviet spy, petty thief, lied on enlistment forms...like a bajillion of them” Darcy noticed she skipped Bucky's dubious history. Tandy ended up pointing at Sam, “And you! Hell, you’re so squeaky clean it _should _be a crime.”

“I like her!” Tony exclaimed with delight. “How you feeling kiddo?”

“I'm fine. Are you even _trying_ to find Ty?”

“She's uber feisty, isn't she?

“Tony...” Darcy and Bucky scolded simultaneously.

“Fine... Friday?”

“Wong and Dr. Strange are both monitoring inter-dimensional travel. As is Earth 65's, Gwen Stacy.

Tony asked, "That is how you travel, right? Inter-dimensionally?”

“Ty can travel through a dark dimension. I can't. Is that all you're doing to find him? Monitoring interdimensional travel?”

Steve explained, “Agents Davis and Piper are currently leading a team to an abandoned HYDRA base in Northern France for information. Agent Coulson has a tech team at the base that you were just at, Ms. Bowen. With the assistance of King T'Challa and Princess Shuri in Wakanda, we are cataloging vulnerable teenagers and children with the potential for developing powers who may be a target for HYDRA experimentation. And Agent Johnson and Peter Parker are analyzing web data for traces of Zola."

Tony smugly asked, "How are we doing so far?”

“Okay, so you don't _completely_ suck at this.”

“Annnyway,” Tony went back to briefing. “How do we stop your partner from traveling through dimensions?”

“I don't know. I... “ Tandy stopped and thought, “He needs to shroud himself in darkness. Hydra may not know that.”

“Like a cloak?” Tony asked.

“Yeah. He has a hoodie...”

One of Tony's eyebrows cocked up in amusement. “He has a magic hoodie?”

“No... he just needs it....”

“He has a magic hoodie, ”he repeated.

“Tony...” this time it was Steve that scolded.

“What? She has a magic glowstick and he has a magic hoodie. They have weird powers!”

“For starters, it's a dagger...”

Bucky interrupted what could have turned into a battle of wits, “Pumpkin, what did Hydra do to your powers?”

Quickly, Bucky snuck a wink Darcy's way while no one was looking.

“I don't think Hydra did anything to my powers. They just... my abilities are powered by hope. And until Agent Barnes rescued me, I didn't have any.”

Everyone stopped and let that sink in.

  
  


Bucky

“I can't stop thinking about it, Darce. The idea of being so young and having no hope.”

They were curled around each other on the couch in front of the television. It was early in the evening, but Tandy had long since retired to her bed. She had worn out after a few hours, woken long enough to eat dinner, and then crashed again.

“She said you gave it back to her,” Darcy responded nuzzling her cheek against his chest. “You're kind of good at that.”

“I am?”

“Yeah. I mean after Thanos...” She sighed. “Sorry...”

Bucky wasn't as bothered by the fact that he remembered nothing after the battle of Thanos as he had been a few weeks ago. “It's all right. I'm looking forward, not back. Tell me.”

A knock on the door interrupted them. “Friday?” Darcy asked.

The AI responded with, “It is Agent Bishop.”

“Come in Katie,” Darcy called out, loud enough that Kate could hear her but not so loud that it would wake their guest.

Darcy untangled herself from Bucky as Kate came in the door. “Speak of the devil. I was just talking about you.”

“You were?” She asked brightly.

“You were?” Bucky asked with confusion.

“Well, I was gonna. I was about to tell Bucky about how you met.”

“It's a decent story, I suppose,” Kate shrugged, heading straight for the refrigerator. She emerged from the kitchen with a soda and draped herself in the armchair, “Let's see...after Clint ditched me to join 'Team Cap' and then got arrested and _then_ broke out of prison I thought I’d never see that lovable jerk again. So I went about my life like a normal person. Superhero hero days over. The next thing I know this big round spaceship appears in the sky and the news says that Iron Man disappeared in the damned thing. And then I get this encrypted message from Clint saying he’s gonna pick me up on his way to Wakanda.”

“Um, Katie what does this have to do with me?”

“Hold up I’m getting there. The first time I saw you you were all, 'Steve! My Best Friend!' and Steve’s like 'Oh! My Bucky Buddy!' and you were hugging and Bruce was bowing to T'Challa and it was all _ridiculous_.”

Darcy let out a snort.

“She's exaggerating,” Bucky insisted.

Kate snorted too but kept talking, “Next time I saw you you were standing between Natasha and Steve and there was a huge alien army coming at us. But the third time I saw you that’s when you really made an impression...”

“That's the time I can't remember...”

Kate

_Kate wasn't surprised that someone had shown up at the small hut she had found while wandering. But she was surprised at who the hut belonged to. His voice was kind but confused sounding, “Um. That’s my goat.”_

_Kate rubbed the goat's velvety ears and told him, “She’s a nice goat.” She then pointed to a brown one about six feet away, “That one's a jerk.”_

“_Ah,” Bucky Barnes said sagely, “His name is Steve.”_

_She started to laugh. Then the laughs changed into sobs. _

“_Please don’t...” Bucky was on his knees next to her, “Are you hurt?”_

_She let out a single wail, “No...”_

_He reached for her, tentatively, as if he was afraid she would reject his touch, “Okay it’s ... it's okay...um..._

“_Kate,” she took that outstretched hand he offered and squeezed, “I’m Kate.”_

“_I know. You’re the big hero.”_

_Her voice came out in a whispered confession, “I killed someone. It wasn’t like he was one of those **things**. He was sort of a person. He had arms and legs and eyes and a big purple face. Dude. He had a purple face... My life is weird.”_

“_Tell me about it...” he replied, reaching out to rub the goat's other ear. _

  
  


“You talked me through it,” Kate said, “I was wigging out about being a killer. But you made me feel better. We became friends that day. Much to the annoyance of Clint.”

  
  


_Barnes looked smaller, laying in that stupid hospital bed at the compound. Kate didn't know what he had been thinking, jumping in front of those bullets. _

_Then again, Kate had heard about Stark's parents. And sacrificing himself to save Pepper...? Sam told her that that was a very 'Bucky' thing to do._

_Stark had kicked Darcy out of Bucky's room to sleep in an actual bed, instead of curled up in the bedside chair. Then he'd kicked Pepper out for the same reason. Kate picked up the discarded book that they'd all taken turns reading. _

_Clint perched on the window seat listening to Kate read. Everywhere they went they were inundated with people who wanted to hear the story of how two humans had managed to defeat Thanos. Even Thor kept asking them to repeat the story. Barnes's room seemed to be a designated refuge. Dr. Palmer allowed it, provided they kept talking, kept reading, kept stimulating his mind. They'd finished A Tale of Two Cities and had moved on to the first Harry Potter book._

“_There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.”_

_Clint let out a little snort at the line. And just like that, Bucky's eyes opened. _

_He let out a small cough and a thin, “Hey Katie.”_

“_Hey there, Barnes,” Kate stood and took his hand, looking down at him affectionately, “You know where you are?”_

“_Hospital?”_

“_Avengers compound, medical wing,” Kate corrected, “You know you're supposed to avoid the bullets, not throw yourself in front of them.”_

“_Pepper?”_

“_She's fine.”_

_Clint stood and approached the bedside, smiling down at Barnes but directing a comment towards Kate, “How come he can call you Katie, but you get pissy when I do it?”_

“_I like him better.”_

“_Lord, save me from ungrateful protégés. You know I stood up a very pretty brunette in order to rescue you when you were kidnapped. What was her name? Laura? Could’ve been the love of my life.” He placed a hand on Bucky's uninjured shoulder, “I'll let Cap know you're awake.”_

“_What were you reading, Katie?”_

“_Harry Potter.”_

“_Can you keep going?”_

“_Mmm-hmm. And then we're going to have a long discussion about your personal safety, dumbass. I kind of want to keep you around.”_

  
  


“Clint kind of turned me loose after that. Not in a bad way. Just in the, 'she can do it herself' way. But I have a feeling he told _you_ to keep tabs on me.”

Bucky shrugged but smirked in response, “Too bad I can't remember.”

“Lucky you. Anyway... I didn't come to reminisce. I actually came to talk to Tandy. I take it she's wiped out?”

“Yeah,” Bucky nodded.

“Well, let her know that Natasha, Pepper and I have four tickets to Giselle next weekend. If she comes we don't have to fight over which of our boyfriends we're going to have to drag kicking and screaming as a date. Unless...” Kate turned to Darcy.

“Nope. I can't sit still that long and you know it. But if you want to go to a midnight showing of Rocky Horror...”

“So uncultured...” Kate smiled.

“Love you too, you snob,” Darcy teased as she walked Kate to the door.

“G'night Dumbass,” Kate called out as she walked down the hall.

  
  


HYDRA Facility- Unknown location

Zola's bug-like face was gleeful as he told Derrick Bishop, “We have captured the Avengers that have been following you, Mr. Bishop.”

Kate's father did his best to keep his face neutral. “I'm...thankful.”

Otto Vermis held a tube in front of him, “If you shake this one she buzzes like an angry bee.”

“Aren't you afraid that she will...” Bishop looked for the correct word, “Embiggen?”

“We've disrupted that technology. Neither insect can escape their jar. And we are keeping the woman sedated. As for the man...his reprogramming is going well. Better than even Mr. Johnson's programming.”

Derrick swallowed hard as he was led into the room with the re-programming chair. Mack was strapped in, but thankfully not receiving 'treatment'. He was blissfully unconscious.

Vermis continued, “Mr. Mackenzie can report back to the Avengers that all is well.”

“Meanwhile, we have five new children that we will be retrieving,” Zola said gleefully. “Where were they again, Otto?”

“Los Angeles. Will you be joining us, Mr. Bishop?”

Derrick nodded, “Of course.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones


	23. Walking Meadows in My Mind

Two weeks later

Bucky

Bucky watched Tandy for a moment before he alerted her to his presence, “I don't know whether to scold you for being awake at this hour or be grateful that you're eating.”

She let out a little laugh before she turned to look at him. She was curled up on the couch, covered in a fleece blanket, eating ice cream and watching a cartoon.

“My sleep schedule is all...” She stabbed the ice cream with her spoon a few times, “I honestly don't know whether it's night or day anymore.”

Bucky went into the kitchen and scooped himself a bowl, “Yeah. Hydra doesn't really care if you get enough vitamin D.”

“I don't even know how long I was in that cell.”

“You're safe now.”

She looked up at him as he approached the couch and said gratefully, “Thanks to you.”

He plopped down on the other side of the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table and watched the cartoon for a few minutes. “What the hell are you watching?”

“Spongebob.”

“He's kind of irritating.”

Tandy let herself smile, “That's kind of the point.”

Almost as quickly as it appeared, the smile fell off of her face. Bucky softly reassured her, “We're going to save Ty.”

“I know. I know that.” They sat in silence a few more minutes before Tandy asked, “Hey Bucky? Can I try something? Take my hand?”

He wrapped his fingers around her hand and Bucky felt the room spin until it disappeared. They were standing in a field of lush green grass. Ahead of them, a charming white farmhouse jutted out from the field. “What...?”

“It worked,” Tandy smiled. “You can let go of my hand now, we can go back to the real world.”

“What is this?” Bucky took a few steps forward, pulling her along.

“Your hopes. I can see your hopes, that's my thing,” she pulled on his hand a bit, “But I don't want to invade your privacy. I just wanted to see if my abilities were back. You can let go.”

Bucky tightened his grip, squeezing his fingers tighter around her hand. “Can we...? Can we stay for a minute?”

“Sure. You don't have any super creepy hopes that will freak me out do you?

“I don't think so.”

“Okay. We can stay. If there is anything you don't want me to see, just let go of my hand.” She swung their hands between them as they walked. “Totally knew you were a pancakes guy, by the way.”

“What are you talking about, pumpkin?”

“The way you hold hands. This way is pancakes. When you lace your fingers together, it's waffles." She asked knowingly, "It's waffles with Darcy, isn't it?” 

“Yeah. I never thought about it, but yeah." They took a few more steps before he remarked, "You're kind of a weirdo, Tandy Bowen.”

“I totally know that.”

They approached the farmhouse and Bucky went straight for the cellar door. He didn't know exactly why but he felt like he needed to make sure that no one could get in.

“It's locked,” Bucky muttered after he gave it a pull.

“Of course it's locked, silly,” a voice he'd never thought he'd hear again said.

Bucky turned slowly, with Tandy holding on to his arm. “Becca?”

Bucky's sister smiled at him. “It's locked, Bucky. All of the horrors you've seen. All the abuse you've suffered are all locked away. You don't have to see them anymore.”

“That's not very realistic, Rebecca,” he said sadly.

“Fiddle faddle.”

She was gone before he could respond. He almost let go of Tandy's hand, disappointed in himself, for his greatest hope being so selfish. But then he heard approaching footsteps, light but fast.

“Daddy!” They watched a dark-haired little girl run by them and into another Bucky's waiting arms. This older version of him had shorter hair, but a much fuller beard. He was dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. He looked relaxed in a way that Bucky couldn't picture himself being.

The other Bucky was standing on a porch of the farmhouse. “Did you have fun with Morgan and Aunt Pepper?”

“I did! But I missed you.”

“Missed you too, Becca Jane. Guess what momma is making.”

“Bread pudding?” She kicked her legs with joy and the other Bucky put her down.

“Yep! Better get in there before your sisters eat it up!”

“They can't eat it up, Daddy. Katie and Daisy are babies!”

“Tell that to your Uncle Steve. He keeps trying to feed them sh..stuff they aren't supposed to have.”

With that, the other Bucky disappeared into the house.

“That was some Norman Rockwell shit right there,” Tandy observed.

Bucky wiped an errant tear from his eye and muttered, “Shuddup.”

“Okay, grandpa.”

“Can we go in?” Bucky asked, unsure about what answer he wanted her to give.

“They're your hopes. I don't mind if you don't.”

They stepped through the door and into a vast orange emptiness. The ground was somehow both a liquid and solid at the same time.

“This is creepy,” Tandy muttered.

“No...it's familiar somehow.” He took a few more steps and watched as little butterflies made of light circled his head. “I've dreamed of this place.”

“Have you finally remembered, babe?”

Darcy stood there. She had a crocheted beret on her head and a knitted scarf around her neck. Horned rimmed glasses sat on her nose. She was younger by several years. “It's what you want, isn't it? To remember?”

“I want to remember our life together,” he admitted. “I want to remember falling in love. I want you to know how much...”

“I already do...It doesn't matter if you remember or you don't. I'll love you, no matter what.”

Her voice drifted on the air, firmly stating, _“I will always want you,”_ even though her mouth never opened.

His own voice echoed back, _“No matter what, I will find you. I will find you, I swear.”_

Bucky closed his eyes and begged, “Was that real?” He opened them and Darcy was gone. He asked Tandy again, “Was it? Was it true?”

“I don't know,” she admitted. “But I think so.”

“_Dude... you have got to stop,” Sam Wilson said._

Bucky and Tandy took a few steps forward and through the fog, they could see Sam and another Bucky cooling down from a run.

“_I'm not doing anything, Sam.”_

“_You're watching her again.”_

“_I'm not.”_

“_She's watching you too.”_

“_She's not even facing me, Sam.”_

“_No, you idiot, when the science ladies are watching me run, she's watching you.”_

“_I think they're all watching me, Sam.”_

“_Oh! Oh is that how it is?”_

“_That's how it is, Sammy.”_

“_You're worse than Rogers. I don't deserve this.”_

“That's weird,” Tandy said.

“What's weird?”

“Nothing... never mind.”

They walked into another vignette.

_Darcy was giggling and staring down at her feet. The other Bucky scolded, “Don't look at your feet, look at me. Okay?”_

“_I'll step on your toes!”_

“_No, you won't. Just let me lead you.”_

“Bucky?” Tandy asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he replied, too awestruck to say anything else.

He watched as his counterpart lifted Darcy up spun her around and set her down. She bit her bottom lip shyly as the other Bucky bent to kiss her.

“Bucky?” Tandy asked again.

“_I will always want you....”_ Darcy's voice drifted across the air again.

“I think this is a memory,” Bucky whispered.

Tandy dropped his hand.

They were back on the couch in Bucky and Darcy's apartment. “Why'd you let go? I wanted to see...”

He looked over and saw that Gretel was sitting in Tandy's lap with her front paws on Tandy's collarbone. Gretel was staring into Tandy's eyes intently.

“What is she doing?” Tandy asked, still as a statue.

“Probably trying to figure out what _we_ were doing.”

“She's not gonna teleport me away or anything is she?”

“Not unless you ask her to.”

Gretel blinked and then gave Tandy's chin a head butt. And just like that, she hopped down and strutted back to her favorite hammock.

“Here, you weirdo,” Tandy conjured a tiny ball of light and Gretel scampered after it, batting it around the room.

“You're ability...it's nice.”

“Depends on who's mind I'm in. I've seen some fucked up shit, Bucky Barnes.” And with that proclamation, Tandy picked up the discarded bowl of ice cream and dug back in. “You just have nice hopes. But I bet you that Ty wouldn't like traipsing through your fears.”

“You're probably right,” he admitted.

* * *

Bucky almost jumped when Darcy spoke, “She okay?”

He gave his head a little shake and climbed into the bed and snuggled up to her. “Thought you were asleep.”

“I got cold,” she admitted, reaching back for his hand. He allowed Darcy to wrap his arm around her. “Is Tandy okay?” she repeated.

“As good as she can be, I guess. We need to find her friend. Her boyfriend. Her soulmate. Whatever he is to her.”

“Soulmate.” Darcy chose. “Pretty sure he's her soulmate.”

Bucky traced his hand down and settled on Darcy's belly.

Quietly, in the safety of the darkness, he muttered, “I think I've got an idea for a name,”

“Yeah? Lemme guess... Rebecca.”

He let out a breath of laughter. “Rebecca Jane.”

“Aww. Janey will love that.”

“Am I really that predictable?”

“Pretty much. I thought you may suggest Daisy or Kate, but then one of them might get upset.”

“Yeah. We'll have to save those names for the twins.” He let the smile bloom across his face and it grew wider when Darcy tried to turn in his arms.

“The what now?” she protested.

He pulled her almost impossibly tighter and commanded with a smile, “Get some sleep, Darlin.”

  
  


Hydra facility, Los Angeles

Derrick Bishop felt ill. He watched as the girl, she couldn't have been more than 14, was attacked by a dozen Hydra agents. She fought off almost half before they came at her with the cattle prods. He desperately tried to hide his disgust.

Zola, however, was infinitely pleased, “It seems the serum has done wonders for the young lady.”

“Which is good,” Otto Vermis agreed, “because young mister Wilder is unaffected.”

“Perhaps,” Zola commented, “Or perhaps the serum enhanced less obvious muscles.”

Vermis turned to their other guest, “Mr. Osborn? How fare your creatures?”

Derrick Bishop had been obviously surprised at Osborn's return to the fold until he realized that Osborn blamed the Avengers for the downing of his plane.

The _Deinonychus_ are doing well, but are quite vicious. We will need to learn to control them.

I thought they were _velociraptors_,” Bishop commented.

“You've seen Jurassic Park too many times, my friend.”

“I think I have an idea for controlling your creatures,” Zola said, “I am glad you are back with us, Mr. Osborn.”

“The Avengers stole my spiders from me. I am with you all the way. Hail Hydra.”

  
  


  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep... I'm retconning the Runaways... because I can.  
Chapter title taken from Strange Magic by ELO


	24. I Will Choose Free Will

Bucky

“I smell coffee,” Darcy muttered as she shuffled into the dining room.

“How you feeling this morning, Darlin?”

“Nauseated,” she replied as she poured herself an extraordinarily large cup of coffee.

“I thought you were nauseated,” Tandy asked with wide eyes as the coffee kept being poured.

“Nothing comes between me and coffee. Not even nausea.”

She took a sip and narrowed her eyes, “What the hell is this?”

“Decaf,” Bucky said, smirking.

“I. Don't. Drink. Decaf.”

“Darlin,” Bucky scoffed, “you're pregnant. Decaf.”

“You are?” Tandy's eyes lit up with actual joy. For the first time, Bucky could see why her abilities were powered by hope.

“Congratulations, Tandy,” Darcy rubbed a little circle on Tandy's shoulder, “you're the first person we've told.”

Bucky winced, realizing that most couples kept these things to themselves for a while. “Sorry, Darce.”

Darcy let out a little laugh, “Sweetheart, Tandy lives with us. And she's clearly not stupid. She would have figured it out.” Darcy shoved the very large mug across the table to Bucky and narrowed her eyes, “Repay me by making real coffee.”

Tandy snorted. “Have you guys always been this cute?”

“You'd know,” Bucky replied, with a mouthful of eggs, “You saw a memory last night. Darce, she showed me a memory.”

“What?” Darcy's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

”Yeah, about that,” Tandy dug her fork around in her breakfast, “...it didn’t feel right. It was like...I don’t know."

“Tandy?” Darcy prompted.

“It was like something was trying to override the memory. Plus what was up with all the orange?”

Bucky shrugged, “I told you, that was my dreamscape.” His nonchalance dropped away when he saw that all of the color had drained out of Darcy's face, “I’m sure it’s... Darcy? Are you all right?”

“Babe. I need to tell you something. About the first battle of Thanos.”

“What are you talking about? First battle?”

Tandy quietly asked, “Do you want me to go?”

“No,” Darcy took her hand and squeezed and then let it go, “You’re probably going to be part of the team someday so...”

Bucky was filing through everything in his memory, trying to understand, “Did I forget a battle...?”

“The whole world did.”

“I remember Thanos _died_. Katie and Clint killed him. How could there be a second battle after that?”

“What you remember _is_ the second battle. The first time, you died. We died. Half the world, half the universe, died,” Darcy explained, all the while anxiously twisting her lovely hands in front of her.

Bucky frowned. He could feel his brows knitting together, “That’s not... how?”

He didn't know how Darcy deciphered that question. But she answered how he could remember the second battle but not the first. “Time travel. The orange place? It’s the Soul Stone. We were trapped in the Soul Stone. For a year.”

The world started to get a little fuzzy around the edges. “I died.”

"You know what's funny? You didn't think we were dead... I was the one who...” Darcy stopped talking and whispered, “Babe?”

“I died,” he repeated in disbelief, his own words buzzing in his head.

Tandy's voice echoed in his head, all funny sounding, “Bucky, are you all right?”

Cutting through the fog, Friday announced, “Charlie Team, Assemble at Quinjet C immediately. Charlie Team, Assemble.”

He shook off his anxiety like a good soldier and announced, “I have to go. Take care of each other.”

* * *

Bucky knew he was scowling. And he knew that none of the team deserved his glower. But he couldn't seem to stop himself.“Bucky Bear? You okay?” Daisy asked.

He aggressively flipped knobs and switches as he went through the pre-flight checklist. “I know about the Soul Stone.”

“You remembered?” Daisy asked, inching towards the pilot's seat to shove Bucky out of it.

While he spoke, he kept his eyes steadfastly on the control panel. “Nah. Tandy's power... she showed me.”

“That's fantastic, though,” Kate chirped, “Maybe it will remove the block in your dumb ass brain and you can remember everything.”

It was under his breath, but in the small cockpit, the whole team could hear, “Can't believe none of you told me I died.”

Kate offered, “Well technically, because of Natasha's message through time, you didn't.”

“Barnes?” This time it was Sam speaking. Using that therapeutic tone that Bucky knew very well.

“You all act like it's no big deal,” he mumbled, still aggressively pushing buttons while Daisy hovered.

“We've all had time to deal with it, Buck,” Daisy actually hip-checked him to try and get him out of her seat.

“Wait,” he turned and looked at their faces, “_All _of you? I knew Sam...I saw you in Tandy's vision. But the two of you died too? Who else?”

“Maybe this isn't' the time...?” Sam said calmly.

“Who else?” Bucky snapped.

“At least, let me fly, okay Bucky Bear?” Daisy yelled, throwing her arms up. He vacated her seat and she slid in, sighing deeply.

Sam guided Bucky back to the back of the jet. “You know about me...”

“And Darcy,” Bucky added.

“Are you sure you don't want to see if the memory comes back...?”

Bucky growled in response, “Who else, Sam?”

“Um. T'Challa. Jane. Jemma. Hope. Most of the Guardians. Parker.”

“Jesus.” He sat down hard. Feeling sick. Bucky rubbed his hand over his face.

Then Sam added, “Shuri.”

“Miles and Gwen?”

“I don't know,” Sam admitted, “I don't' think we'll ever know who else was wiped out. We only know the ones that Gamora restored.”

“Restored? What does that mean? Why me? Why would I deserve...?”

“Nuh-uh,” Kate stopped him with a head shake and arms crossed over her chest. “Nope. You aren't gonna say it...”

“I should have died when I fell off that train. Should have died every time HYDRA put me in cryo. And now...this? I don't deserve all of these extra chances.”

“He said it,” Kate threw her hands up in the air in complete exasperation.

“Katie...” Sam warned.

But it was too late. Kate launched into a tirade, alternating between wildly gesticulating and forcibly poking her finger into Bucky's chest. “Listen up dumbass. You deserve everything and more. And even if you didn't... Darcy does. She loves you. And she wants you. So don't go and get all morose and sacrifice-y. Don't do anything stupid on this mission because you think your life matters less somehow. Your wife doesn't deserve that. Got it?”

“Okay, Katie. Okay.” He wrapped her up in a hug and soothed, “Hey, it's okay.”

“You piss me off when you say things like that. You make me so mad.”

“It's okay, Katie, I'm sorry.”

He hated to admit it, but having these people care for him made him think that maybe he did deserve to be alive and happy.

* * *

“This base has been empty for years,” Bucky commented, still holding his ICER at the ready.

“Why on earth would Mack send us here?” Sam asked.

Kate had gone up to the second level, where she was looking down from the metal framework that lined the walls. “Confirming what we saw from the jet. No heat signatures. This place is empty.”

“There are still computers,” Daisy commented, sitting down and beginning the process of hacking into HYDRA's system. “Maybe the virus we designed can make it to Zola. Wipe his program out.”

Bucky started his recon of the back rooms while Sam took the other hallway.

What he was seeing confirmed his earlier assumption. Thick layers of dust and cobwebs covered the surfaces. No one had been there in years.

Suddenly, Bucky heard a popping sound and felt hands grab his shoulders. The world went dark.

* * *

Bucky was having trouble catching his breath. He stayed bent over with his hands on his knees, but his survival instincts were strong enough that he surveyed the area. He was in an empty gas station. And sitting on the counter was, “Ty? Are you Ty?”

The young man nodded, ”You the Asset?”

“Yeah.”

“Zola wants me to bring you to him.”

He took a breath and asked, “Why aren't you?”

“Because when I get here, in this realm, I know who I am. Know what I stand for.”

Bucky straightened and looked around some more. The gas station seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. It didn't take him long to realize that the 'here' that Ty was referring to was another plane of existence, just like the one Tandy had taken him to. “Why aren't I seeing my fears?”

“Because we aren't in your head. We're physically here. I take it you've seen your hopes?”

“Yeah. Tandy is safe.”

Ty took a deep breath. “Good.”

“She's desperate to get you back.”

“Tell her that they aren't hurting me anymore.”

“That true?”

“Yeah. They have me broken down out there. In the real world. No reason to hurt me anymore. Not for a while anyway. But I have to go back. There are others that they are experimenting on."

“If you don't bring me with you...” Bucky couldn't finish the sentence. He knew what kind of punishment came from failing a mission.

“Yeah. You're going to have to make it look like I tried. Break my arm or something.”

“Once you start failing missions they're gonna start hurting you. Ty, come back to the tower. We can put a tracker on you. Find you.”

Ty shook his head in dissent, “There's no time.”

“Where are they holding you? I'll come get you.”

“I don't know,” Ty wouldn't look up. He fiddled with the edges of his sweatshirt, “I just wanted to tell you...take care of her for me, okay? I wish I could see her. One last time.”

“Don't talk like that. I'm going to save you, son.”

“No!” Ty's eyes shot up to meet Bucky's, “I don't want anyone risking their lives for me.”

“We're Avengers that's what we do.” It didn't seem to soften his resolve, so Bucky took a more manipulative approach, “What about Tandy?”

“We always knew that one of us would die.”

“Being held by Hydra isn't dying. It's worse. I won't let anyone suffer my fate, not if I can stop it.”

Ty seemed to soften a bit at the idea, “After you get the other kids out.” But then he threw a curveball at Bucky. “Then, if you can't bring me back. You need to end...”

“No,” Bucky interrupted forcefully, “I know what you're thinking. And the answer is no. Tandy can bring you back. If my idiot best friend can bring you back then surely your soulmate...”

Ty shook his head again, “I got to take you back man. But listen, Hydra isn't being run by Zola. He's got his experiments, that's his thing. But the other guy... he's recruited people in the government, the police. He's turned at least one of your people. Don't trust anyone.”

“Wait. Who?”

“Don't know. I've just heard them talking. But things up here...” Ty tapped on the side of his head. “They're muddy.”

“I know. I remember.” Bucky looked around the place. “If you were to take me again, would you pull me through here?”

“Yeah. Probably.”

“I have an idea, son.”

* * *

Bucky popped back into the back room and heard Sam calling for him, “Barnes? You find anything? Buck?”

Ty's warning bounced around in his head. Trust no one. Bucky called back, “Pipedown Birdbrain. Nothing here.”  
  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title was taken from Free Will by Rush


	25. No Offstage Exits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a description of a mild panic attack in this chapter.

Bucky

Trust no one, Bucky reminded himself as he got on the quinjet. His instincts told him to confide in these three people, his team. But he kept his mouth shut.

Saving Ty was his goal. Getting him out of HYDRA's grip. Stopping HYDRA forever.

He closed his eyes for most of the flight, thinking back to his talk with Ty.

“_I have an idea, son.”_

“_No. I told you. No one is risking themselves for me. Especially if you are the one taking care of Tandy. Her mom is dead. I'm... Well, you are all she has.”_

“_Hydra is going to be after me anyway.” Bucky reminded him._

_They stared at each other, in a silent battle of wills until Ty sighed and asked, “What's your plan?”_

“_We communicate here. Only here. Where they can't follow us.”_

“_I hate to tell you this, but you can't get here. Not without me.”_

“_Tandy...?” Bucky asked. Surely she could get into this realm. _

_Ty shook his head. “Her powers are light. Not darkness.”_

_Bucky argued, “I know the Sorcerer Supreme.”_

“_This isn't his playground either. This is the Dark Dimension. And you shouldn't even be here.” Ty put his hand on Bucky's arm and dragged him back to the real world._

* * *

Sam hadn't even noticed Bucky had been gone from the HYDRA base. None of his team had. Bucky didn't say anything. Not even after they had boarded the jet for home.

The quinjet's engines hummed softly, otherwise, the only noise in the cabin was Sam's soft snores and the pages of Kate's book turning. Restless, Bucky went to the cockpit and sat next to Daisy. “Those aren't the coordinates for the Tower,” he observed.

“No. They're the coordinates for the compound. You know that. Or...you don't. I forgot you don't remember being there.”

“Why aren't we going to the Tower? Darcy...”

“Is at the compound. Everyone is, see?” Daisy pulled up a video feed of an airstrip. The bus and two quinjets sat on the runway along with a Wakandan jet. Next to it was another plane, one that was rather unusual looking. “Looks like Delta team is back.”

Bucky pointed to the strange-looking ship, “I don't recognize that ship.”

“It's the Benatar,” Daisy explained. “The Guardians are home. You'll finally get to re-meet Dr. Foster. By the way, she's a human tornado.”

* * *

Daisy wasn't lying. A tiny woman, who Bucky recognized from pictures as Jane Foster, was flinging herself into his arms before he was even off the ramp. “Oh my god, Bucky! Darcy told me what happened and I just can't believe it. I can't say I'm an expert in neuropathophysiology but I'm sure that I can find an appropriate specialist.”

“Dr. Strange...” Bucky began.

“Was a competent neurosurgeon, I'm sure. But let's face it, he's just an MD.”

“I really want to be there when you tell him that,” Sam joked, patting Jane on the shoulder as he walked by. “Glad to see you, Dr. Foster. Quill inside?”

“Ugh, yes. Already planning karaoke night.”

“Awesome!” Katie chirped.

“God no,” Daisy muttered as she descended the ramp.

Jane looked up at him. Her big brown eyes were almost impossibly bigger than Darcy's. “Are you really okay, James? Darcy has been so worried.”

“Yeah. I'm getting there.”

“You know if you need anything at all...”

He nodded.

She took his arm and walked with him towards the main building, “And James, if you hurt Darcy I will kill you where you stand.”

“Got it.” He fell into a companionable walk with her, surprising since he had no memories of her. But he had to ask about something Darcy told him, “Did you really punch out Jack Rollins?”

“I did. He pissed me off.”

“And you ran over Thor with your car?”

“Technically I hit Thor with my car, and it was totally Darcy's fault. The first time I hit him, anyway.”

“That doesn't surprise me a bit.”

* * *

As they passed the alien spaceship (the Milano, Bucky reminded himself), Rocket descended from the ramp. Bucky knew about him, but it was still a shock to see a bipedal raccoon yelling at him, “You had to do it, didn’t you? You had to stake your claim on my Darcy?”

Jane let out a laugh and left them both, heading towards the main building.

Bucky let himself really relax for the first time since that morning. He cocked one eyebrow and smirked, “_Your_ Darcy?”

“I can smell the difference you know.” Rocket shook his finger at Bucky, “I know she’s going to have kits.”

“Shhh!” Bucky looked around for stray listeners, “We aren’t telling people yet.” Then Bucky stopped, and repeated, “Did you say kits? Plural?”

Rocket shrugged, “Don’t humans usually have a litter?”

“No.”

“Well hell, I don’t know then. Could be just one. I thought she’d be more fertile with those...” Rocket held his hands out in front of his chest.

“Do not finish that sentence!”

“Hahaha. C'mon Barnes. Let's go inside. Make fun of Wilson and Quill.”

There was a small group gathered on the benches outside the compound as Bucky and Rocket approached.

“Seriously? Skrulls?” Rhodey asked.

“Yep,” A blonde woman that Bucky didn't recognize popped a handful of candies into her mouth. “Right here in our own backyard. Specifically, in the US Senate.”

Another woman, another blonde, added to the conversation, “We've been tracking Skrull infestations across several world governments. Xandar, Achernon...”

The brunette sitting next to her finished, “When we realized there was a possibility they were in the United States Senate, we contacted Wanda.”

“Why Wanda?”

“Her powers are too complex for the Skrulls to replicate. We knew she was clean.”

“Barnes!” Rhodey called him over. “Let me reintroduce you to Bobbie Morse, Carol Danvers, and Maria Hill.”

“Hi,” he said simply.

“Reintroduce?” Bobbie asked, with a mouthful of candy.

“You really were in deep cover,” Hill commented, “Bucky has had some memory loss.” To Bucky, she explained, “Jane has been keeping us up to date.”

Rocket settled himself between Carol and Hill and added, “Gamora has threatened to murder that Reyes kid about ten times since we've been here.”

“Wasn't his fault,” Bucky argued. “He has a demon....”

“Oh poor me,” Rocket imitated, “I have a demon inside me I can't control. Boohoo. Keep your demon in the Dark Dimension where it belongs. That's what I say!”

The wheels in Bucky's head began turning. It was probably a terrible plan. But it was the best he had.

“Barnes?” Rhodey asked, “You okay?”

“Yeah. What is a Skrull?”

* * *

Bucky wandered into the common room in a daze.

Shapeshifting aliens? Hydra moles in the Avengers? Demons and dark dimensions?

His eyes vaguely noticed Sam and Peter Quill setting up what he assumed was a karaoke machine. Steve was laughing with a man who was impossibly even bigger than him. Thor, a little voice told him. A green-skinned woman was chatting with a red man. Gamora, Vision. He started to feel dizzy. His heart felt like it was beating out of his chest. There were people everywhere. People and...not people. Another huge man, with green and red skin, was showing off two swords to Natasha. And a tree was walking out of the room. A tree...

He felt a hand touch his shoulder and he almost slapped it away.

“Friday, send an alert to Darcy's phone to find me, asap,” Stark's voice said quietly. “Barnes, I'm taking you over here where it's quieter. Walk with me, okay?”

His brain screamed not to trust anyone, but his feet complied.

“You're having a panic attack, Barnes. You're okay. You're safe here.”

Trust no one, his mind reminded him.

The world around him was narrowed to the tile on the floor between his feet and the wall he was leaning against.

“Darce,” Stark's voice sounded unnecessarily loud, even though he was talking in a hushed tone. “He's having a panic attack.”

“Thanks, I've got him.”

Warm vanilla-scented hands held the side of his face.“Bucky? Babe? Look at me.” He opened his eyes and saw her worried face looking up at him. Gently, she lowered his face down until they were touching foreheads. “Hey breathe with me okay? In and out. That's it.”

He followed her instruction even while the voice in his head chanted, 'Trust no one. Trust no one.' Except... “Darcy,” he breathed. “I'm sorry.”

“For what? Hmm?” Her fingers traced his face, one hand reaching back to run her fingers across the back of his neck. Soothingly, she scolded, “ I told you, we've all had nightmares. We've all had panic attacks. And we all know how to help each other through them. Before you had me, you had Sam.”

He nodded numbly as the world slowly came back into view and his heart stopped thundering in his ears.

“Is everyone watching?” he eventually managed to growl out.

“Look and see.”

Bucky peeked around the corner. Stark, Steve, and Sam were hovering nearby, but everyone else seemed oblivious. “Just Sam and the punk.”

Darcy teased, “Steve probably thinks we’re making out.”

He managed a half-laugh, “Maybe we should.”

“James Buchanan Barnes, are you propositioning me?”

“Was that not clear?” he teased back, starting to feel like himself again.

“You want to go back to your cottage?”

“Mind if we check on Tandy first?”

“Of course not.”

He stopped and went back to what she had just said, “My cottage?”

“It's where you lived when we met. Our apartment in the Tower is ours. But I don't know. I've always thought of the cottage as yours.”

* * *

“Oh good, you can be the delivery man!”

They were walking towards the media room, where, according to Sam, the teenagers had camped out. May Parker placed six large pizza boxes in Bucky's arms and gave him a sunny smile. Nakia topped off the stack with six more and informed him, “Tandy has a room set up right next to Shuri's and across the hall from T'challa's and mine.”

From behind the boxes, he protested to the backs of the two women, “I have a cottage...”

“It's one-bedroom, babe. And across the compound. Let her stay here,” Darcy said. She then called out, “Don't have too much fun at the party, ladies!”

“Rio is making margaritas!” May did a little wiggle.

“Behave yourselves, ” Darcy teased as she opened the door to the media room for Bucky.

The pizza boxes started to disappear from Bucky's hands the second he walked in the door. “Six of you need twelve large pizzas?” he questioned as Miles grabbed three, leaving one in Bucky's hands.

“I'm a growing boy,” Miles explained.

Tandy reached for the last box and Bucky warned, “Take it easy on the pizza, pumpkin. Don't want to shock your stomach.”

“What is this shocking of my stomach you're always worried about? I'm starving. Hand it over.”

“It's just... it's spicy... and greasy...”

“And you're absurdly overprotective,” Shuri commented. Peter, Miles, and Gwen snorted their agreement. Gabe was at least kind enough to give Bucky a look of sympathy.

“All right, fine. I'll try not to be overprotective.”

Darcy snorted then, “You might as well try not to breathe, babe.”

* * *

The cottage was tucked among the trees, on the edge of the compound grounds. Darcy immediately headed to the kitchen, rubbing the waiting Gretel's ears as she walked in the door.

“Hey, fuzzball. You been a good girl?” Darcy started going through the cabinets, “Housekeeping has been here. Groceries were delivered. Go ahead and check for bugs. I’ll start dinner.”

Bucky stood there and blinked at the casual way she just threw out that he should check for bugs, “What?”

Darcy dug under the sink and handed him a scanner. With a shrug, she explained, “You were just at a hydra base. Plus Delta team and the Guardians and Skrulls... You’re about to vibrate through the floor. Go ahead”

He started to scan the living room but asked, “You don’t think I’m paranoid?”

“Of course you’re paranoid,” she replied, with her head in the refrigerator, “But it’s like a healthy paranoia. Oh my god, this salmon is gorgeous. We’re eating this. What else looks pretty? This dill. This dill looks pretty. You have any preference for a side? Oh! Butternut squash risotto! No. Wait. Baked sweet potatoes with cinnamon and toasted pecans.”

He couldn't help but shake his head and smile at the rambling monologue, “I really don’t deserve you.”

“Because I’m making dinner?”

“Because of everything.”

She dismissed him with a wave and a “Pssh.”

As he scanned the room looking for listening devices, he watched her. She scrubbed the potatoes and stabbed them with forks. She preheated the oven and started chopping the dill. He watched as she mixed the dill in with sour cream and stuck her finger in the bowl to sneak a taste.

He snuck by her to put the scanner back under the sink and joked, “Sam didn't put his forehead against mine like you just did when I had a panic attack, Did he?”

“Oh yeah, you totally used to make out too.”

Bucky let a wide, real smile cross his features. He shook his head back and forth, letting the smile blossom even more. He leaned into his wife and kissed her just above her ear. “Thanks, Darce. Really. Thank you. I owe you.”

He expected a scolding about not owing her anything but instead, she pinched him on his butt and teased, “You _bet _you do.”

“Hey! Vixen.”

She laughed, full-throated and genuine, but swatted him away when he reached for her again. “These pecans won't candy themselves. Why don't you put on some tunes, babe?” She handed him her phone, which must have been already connected somehow to speakers in the cottage.

He watched her smile to herself as she tossed brown sugar and cinnamon into a skillet. She added water and stirred.

Bucky scrolled through a song selection on her phone. He accidentally started one as he was scrolling.

“Um...no,” she laughed.

“What the hell....?”

“So I have Achey Breaky Heart on my phone...I'm not ashamed.”

Bucky listened to a little more. “Sweetheart, you should be ashamed.”

“Shuddup. There's good stuff on there. Keep scrolling.”

Knowing full well, based on its title, that it would be an atrocious song, he started one called Barbie Girl.

Darcy held up the skillet, which had the pecans added into the syrup, and pretended that she was going to throw it at him.

“All right, all right. I'll be good,” Bucky promised. He got to the C's and recognized a song. He thought she would be delighted, but Darcy's face fell as Cheek to Cheek started playing.

“Can you play something else?”

Bucky was honestly confused, “I saw us dance to this song in the Soul Stone. Is it not a good memory?”

“We danced to it more than once. The second time...didn't go so well.” She wasn't looking at him. She kept her gaze on the pecans as she stirred.

He hit stop on the playback. “It was my fault, wasn't it?”

“No. It was just circumstances. That's all.”

“Why do I have a feeling you're trying to spare my feelings?”

“All right. Truth?” She took the pan off of the heat and came into the living room with him. “We danced right here. And you started to remember the Soul Stone. And you freaked out. You thought someone like HYDRA was messing with your memories. And you said... not nice things to me.”

Bucky felt a little sick. “What...?”

“You know what, Babe?” Her hands went to his face, softly dragging one of her thumbs across the stubble on his cheek. “I honestly hope that memory never comes back. It was literally the worst night of my life. And I've been shot. Twice.”

“I'm...”

“Don't.” A single finger went over his lips to stop his voice, “Do. Not. Apologize. You already have. And I wasn't an angel that night either. Okay?”

“That's why we didn't dance to it at our reception.”

“That's why.”

He pulled her in close. Bucky wanted to make her smile again. Make her look the way she was just a little bit ago. He could do that for her after what she had done for him tonight. “Hmm.”

“What are you thinking, Babe?” She pulled back and raised one eyebrow with suspicion.

“I'm thinking that I need to replace that memory with a better one.” He smirked at her and pulled out his phone instead. He scrolled to the B's and started one of the songs that Clint had gotten stuck in his head on more than one mission. The keyboard began playing and Darcy squished up her face in mock disgust.

_'Babe I'm leavin'...' _the lyrics began.

“No!” She squealed when he reached for her.

“Dance with me, darlin'.”

“No! This song is cheesy!” She squirmed away again laughing and fled back to the kitchen.

“So? You’re cheesy.”

“Where did you even hear this?”

“Clint. He plays it a lot after missions.” He stalked towards her. Trapped by the counter, she had no chance to escape when he pulled her into his arms. “Dance with me,” he repeated.

“No. I refuse.” With this proclamation, Darcy fell limply back letting the arm he had around her waist hold her weight. Her arms hung like noodles and her head was flung back. It was a miracle she didn't hit her head on the countertop.

Her rag doll pose offered a tantalizing view down her shirt. He kissed his way across her collarbone.

She was still comically limp in his arms when she protested, “No amount of seduction will make me dance to this abomination of a cheesy love ballad.”

Bucky laughed and pulled her up, “All right Darlin. I concede. Pick something else.”

“Friday play something decent.”

Styx immediately stopped playing. Bucky stuck his bottom lip out in a mock pout.

“The Boss is a fan of this song,” Friday announced as the sound of an acoustic guitar filled the apartment, “Will it do, Mrs. Barnes?”

“It's perfect.”

Darcy wrapped her arms around Bucky's waist and rested her cheek against his chest. She let out a soft hum of contentment.

“This isn’t dancing,” Bucky protested as he rested his cheek on top of her head.

They swayed softly. “Are you complaining?”

“Mmm no. Not complaining.” Bucky liked the song. He didn't know who it was or what era it was from. But he liked it.

'_Wild horses couldn't drag me away'_

“You know the potatoes need to cook for a while before I can start the salmon,” Darcy said.

He pulled back a bit and looked down at her, “What are you suggesting?”

“Let’s dance in the bedroom.”

* * *

After dinner, well after nightfall, when they were once again tangled up in the sheets, Bucky asked, “What did I say to you?”

“What?”

He didn't know why he wanted to bring it back up. But he just had to know, “The thing I said that was so awful...”

“Babe...

“Please tell me.”

Darcy sighed and nestled in tighter to him. “You thought I was sleeping with you because I was a HYDRA spy. Ridiculous, right?”

“Yeah. Ridiculous.”

Trust no one.

He waited until she was asleep before he climbed out of bed and left the cottage.

  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs referred to are Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus, Barbie Girl by Aqua, Cheek to Cheek by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, Babe by Styx and Wild Horses by the Rolling Stones.


	26. Just What the Truth Is, I Can't Say Anymore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did a little edit of this chapter. Just some additional dialogue between Kate and Robbie.

Kate  
  


Kate slid out of bed without waking Robbie.

Rio's margaritas were going to cause a whopper of a hangover if she didn't drink some more water. Robbie had refused to indulge in the alcohol or the karaoke and at one point she called him a stick in the mud. But he had just smiled at her warmly and encouraged her to continue making a fool of herself.

Actually, he said to keep having fun. And he smiled at her in that sly way he had.

Then, when she stumbled on her way to her room in the compound he scooped her up. And he laughed when she said he could be on the cover of a romance novel.

He cajoled her into a glass of water, helped her into her pajamas (purple with pink unicorns on them), tucked her in, and whispered endearments in Spanish as he stroked her hair.

“Aren't we gonna...?” she had asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Nope. Because you're bombed, Kate. I'm not taking advantage of you like this.”

“Pfftt... taking advantage... it's not like we've never done the horizontal hula. ”

"It's the horizontal tango, Hawkeye. And I'm afraid you'll throw up on me."

"That'd be funny," Kate giggled.

"Not really."

"It would! You need to loosen up! Have fun! Be happy!"

His voice rumbled in her ear, "I am happy. You make me happy."

"Aw, that's so fucking sweet I may barf." Kate hopped out of bed and ran toward the bathroom, "Gonna barf."

"Thank god you have good aim," he teased. 

She didn't remember anything after that. But she was still in her purple unicorn pajamas so she was pretty sure he had been an actual gentleman after all.

Out of habit, she checked her phone. No calls or texts. But there was an email from her brother-in-law. For a second she felt a twinge of panic that there had been a change in her sister's condition. But her sister's husband would have called, not sent an email.

She opened it up and out loud she muttered, “Hunh?”

“Kate?” Robbie's voice was husky with sleep. “Time is it?”

“Around five. I'm coming back to bed.”

“You drink some more water?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

She slid back under the covers.

“Everything okay?” he asked, as he snuggled next to her.

“Yeah. My brother-in-law just sent me the Kermit meme.”

“The one where he's drinking tea?”

“No. The good Kermit, bad Kermit one.”

“He must have thought it was funny.”

“But it's a million years old...”

“Call him tomorrow and ask.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess.”

Sam

“Daisy, it's five in the morning. Come back to bed,” Sam grumbled, shuffling into the living room.

“I'm coming right back,” she said distractedly.

“You said that two hours ago.” With a heavy, sleep-deprived sigh he sat down on the couch next to her.

She didn't look up from the laptop sitting on the coffee table. Next to the computer was portable wifi.

“Any particular reason you aren't using Stark tech or our network, Daze?”

“No particular reason,” she parroted back, still fixated on the computer.

Sam waited for her to acknowledge him before he prompted, “Daisy?”

She didn't respond. Instead, she enlarged the screen's image more, looking for details. Sam patiently waited for ten minutes before he reached forward as if to close it.

“No!”

She finally looked at him. Sure, her eyes were widened in disbelief that he would dare close that laptop, but at least they were finally focused on his face. “Hey there, love. You gonna talk to me about what's on your mind?"

Daisy sighed and sat back into the cushions. “That Hydra base. It was empty. Like, really, really empty.”

Sam shrugged, “Bad intel. It happens.”

“But it shouldn't. Not with the number of eyes we have on the inside.”

“You think Derrick Bishop is feeding us bad intel.” It wasn't a question.

But Daisy surprised Sam by shaking her head. “He shouldn't be able to. Not with Hope and Scott looking over his shoulder. Sam, I think Mack is sending us bad intel.”

Sam felt his mouth drop open slightly at the accusation. “Why would...?”

“And there's something else,” she interrupted. She leaned forward and with her fingers deftly moving across the keyboard, she pulled up an aerial view of the Hydra base they had been at. She switched to heat vision. “Look here.”

In one of the rooms, a blotch of red, one of the team, briefly became blue then disappeared. Three minutes later it became blue and then red again.

“Who was that?” Sam asked, afraid of the answer.

“Barnes. It was Barnes.”

  
  


Darcy

“Babe? It's five am...whoa...” Darcy stopped and took in the chaos in the living room. There was a large white dry erase board in the middle of the room. Markers were strewn everywhere. Gretel was chasing a cap around the floor. And Bucky was erasing something from the board, with a deep scowl on his face. With a measured casualness she asked, “Hey babe, whatcha doing?”

He stopped and looked at her, with adorable concern, “Did I wake you?”

“No. Had to pee. You haven't answered my question.”

Bucky ran his hand through his hair as he paced. “Well I was thinking...and then I went to the landing strip because I knew the bus had one of these...trying to puzzle this out... you got me thinking...”

Darcy eyeballed the chaos in her living room, “This is my fault?

“What? No.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered, “Sorry.” He looked agitated but his voice was surprisingly calm in tone. He continued to pace and gesture tiredly towards the board as he spoke, “I was thinking about how I thought you were Hydra... then. Not now. So I thought I could try and figure it out... but I didn't want to use the Stark tech... who knows who's watching. No offense Friday.”

“No offense taken, Agent Barnes.”

Even with his calm tone, his agitation was obvious. He wasn't meeting her eyes. His hands clenched and opened over and over. She took both of his hands in hers and said, “Babe. Finish a sentence. Please.”

He looked down at her and sighed, “I saw Ty...”

“What? When? How?” Darcy realized she sounded completely dumbstruck just then.

“At the base. He took me. And then...he didn't. He said that the Avengers have been compromised.”

Bucky sat down hard on the couch and scrubbed his hand down his face. “I'm scared, Darcy. I don't know who to trust.”

She knelt in front of him, taking his hand again. “You trust me?”

“Of course I do.” He lowered his head and took her face in his hands. “You promised me I could.”

“Still following orders from the safe house, Agent?”

“More like trusting my instincts.” His right hand drifted back to cup the back of her neck as he asked, “How did I do this without you?”

“Do what?”

“This...” he sighed with exhaustion.

“This? This is new.” She stood up and faced the whiteboard with her hands on her hips, “Never had a list of potentially compromised Avengers on a dry erase board in the middle of the living room before.”

He let out a little snort of a laugh. Darcy decided to pull him a little farther out of his worries.

With a tone of complete and utter sass, she told him, “You did pretend to be brainwashed once, locked me in a room and made me watch you pretend to be brainwashed and kidnapped. Thereby causing me to cry for a week straight leading to a headache, puffy eyes and a snotty nose.”

She held out her hand to help him off the couch as he asked, “I take it I didn't apologize for that?”

“No. You did not.”

“Darcy, I'm sorry that I locked you in a room and made you watch me pretend to be brainwashed and kidnapped.”

“Thereby...” she prompted.

“Thereby causing you to cry for a week.”

“Puffy eyes...

“Causing you to have a headache, puffy eyes and a runny nose. Am I forgiven?”

She tapped him on the nose with the tip of her finger. “I will take it into consideration.” Then she turned back to the board, “Talk me through this, babe.”

“Everyone on the left has either been captured by Hydra or an operative or has been away from the Tower for an extended period of time.”

She scrutinized the list. Under a little red octopus that Bucky had crudely drawn were the names:

_Gwennie_

_Miles_

_Fitzsimmons_

_Katie_

_Robbie_

_Rhodes_

_Hope_

_Scott_

_Mack_

_YoYo_

_Natasha_

_Steve_

_T'Challa_

_Shuri_

_Delta Team (all)_

_Piper_

_Davis_

_Clint_

_Coulson_

_May_

“Clint and Coulson?” Darcy squinted at the writing.

“Those three were leaving for Washington tonight.” He gestured to the last three names on the list. “They were leaving the airstrip as I got there. Cleaning up the Skrull mess.”

Darcy looked at the names on the right:

_Thor & Jane_

_The Guardians_

_Maria Hill_

_Carol Danvers_

_Delta team (except Wanda?)_

_T'Challa and Shuri_

_Nat and Stevie_

“And everyone on the right is clear? Because there are some people that are on both lists. I mean, The Guardians, they’ve been in space. No contact with Hydra...”

Bucky reached around her and drew a little green alien at the top of the column.

“Skrulls? You can’t possibly think Jane or Thor...”

“I don’t. But can we be sure?” 

Darcy sighed, “No. We can’t. Who are we left with?”

“The only Avengers that haven’t been away for an extended period...” He circled five names at the bottom of the board: Stark, Banner, Sam, Daisy, and Peter Parker.

It was Darcy's turn to sit down hard. All of the names listed above and then across the bottom, just five names. “Those aren’t good odds.” She stared at the board some more. “Wait. Did you tell Tandy that you saw Ty? She needs to know.”

“She can't know. She was with Hydra. I can't be sure.”

Darcy let out an exhale.

“You still think it’s a healthy paranoia?” he asked.

“Shit. Bucky, what are we gonna do?”

Bucky went over to the board and circled Robbie's name. “I have a plan. And you aren't going to like it.”

  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song title taken from Nights In White Satin by the Moody Blues


	27. Ringing Hell's Bells

Darcy

She dreamed of drowning. She always did when she was stressed. She dreamed of drowning and being strapped down.

This time she dreamed that they were pouring sand in her mouth instead of water. She dreamed that they were holding her down by the shoulder. There was a weight across her abdomen.

She also knew she could make it stop. She just needed to wake up.

Darcy woke with a gasp. There was a sandpapery taste in her mouth and a cramp in her shoulder, but thankfully no nausea. Bucky was slung across her in an undignified sprawl on the couch, which honestly wasn't big enough for the both of them. She cast her eyes over to the whiteboard and sighed.

Bucky shifted a bit, putting unwanted pressure on her bladder. “Babe, let me up,” she complained.

He rolled away, eyes still closed and a frown on his face.

When she came back into the room, he was sitting there, rubbing his hand over his beard.

“We should go talk to Tony,” Darcy said.

“Before coffee?” he teased, but without a smile.

“Before coffee,” she nodded. “Brush your teeth and let's go.”

* * *

  
  


“Perfect timing!” Pepper announced as she swung open the door to the apartment that took up the entire floor of the main building. She deposited Morgan in Bucky's arms and the chubby baby let out a squeal of delight and proceeded to grab at the beard on Bucky's face.

“I made a ton of biscuits and gravy and am taking them down to the dining room. No better hangover cure.”

“We actually came to talk to Tony,” Bucky said, dodging little drool covered fists that were intent on landing in his mouth.

“Didn't they tell you? He took a team out last night. Hydra base outside of Vienna.”

“He doesn't have a team,” Darcy argued. “Scott, Mack, and YoYo are undercover and Clint just left for Washington.”

“He took Bruce and Peter. For old times sake,” she shrugged. “You gonna help me carry this stuff downstairs or what?”

* * *

“He left with Peter and Bruce,” Darcy said robotically as she and Bucky sat on their living room couch, staring at the whiteboard. “Unbelievable.”

“We need to get to Sam and Daisy,” Bucky muttered.

“I told Friday to have them contact me when they were awake,” Darcy said, frowning into her decaf. She sat it down and shoved it across the coffee table. “Jesus. How much time do we have?”

Bucky didn't respond.

“Friday?” Darcy asked, “When is Tony expected to land at the Hydra base?”

“Boss is expected to land in an hour, Mrs. Barnes.”

“An hour,” she repeated. “Maybe we should brief Sam and Daisy later. We should call Robbie.”

Bucky didn't seem to be listening to her. He just muttered, “He left with Peter and Bruce,” then he hissed out, “Fuck.” He took a deep breath and then apologized. “Sorry, Darlin.”

“It's okay. I feel the exact same way.”

He stood and sighed and then erased Peter, Tony and Bruce's names from the bottom of the whiteboard. He muttered under his breath. “Went to a goddamned Hydra facility,” as he added their name to the list of people who could potentially be or could become brainwashed by Hydra. Then he let out a minor explosion. “Damn it!” He through the marker across the room. The action sent Gretel scrambling out of the room in fear. “Gretel. Shit, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.”

His hands went to his face and Bucky slumped back onto the couch. “I can't do this,” he said quietly.

“Hey,” Darcy moved to kneel in front of him. She rubbed her hands over his knees. “Talk to me.”

“It's Hydra. I can't... what if I fail? What if I lose everyone?”

Darcy shook her head. “You won't.”

“What if I lose myself? What if they....? Zola won't stop until he has me back. Maybe if I'm gone...”

“This isn't just about you, Babe. Don't do that to yourself.”

His words were almost too quiet to hear, “I don't want to fight anymore.”

“You want to run?” She asked, without judgment.

“You probably think I'm...”

Darcy squeezed his knee and threatened, “Don't finish that sentence. If you want to run. We'll run. You and me. We'll go somewhere where Zola will never find you. We can go to a whole different world in the multiverse.”

“You mean that?”

“You know that I do.”

He let out a sigh and cast his eyes down. “And if I want you to run by yourself?”

“No.” She stood up and glared down at him, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Darce...”

“No. Absolutely not. You're down to what, you Sam and Daisy? No. You need me.”

“You're pregnant.”

“Irrelevant.”

“Like hell it is!”

“For our plan. It's irrelevant. Our plan will still work. And you _do_ need me. You need me to pull you back, in case....” Darcy didn't finish the sentence. “This plan is insane. We shouldn't do this.”

“I _need_ to do this before I lose my nerve.” Bucky stood up and called out, “Friday? Location of Robbie Reyes.”

“Mr. Reyes and his brother are in the dining room of the main building.”

Bucky straightened his shirt and headed towards the front door. He grabbed the ICER out of the gun safe near the entryway and stuck the pistol in the back of his waistband.

“You planning on shooting anyone in particular, babe?” It should have come out as a sarcastic quip, but instead, it was a little sad.

He jerked open the door and Sam and Daisy were standing there, Sam's fist raised to knock.

Darcy opened her mouth to say something and closed it abruptly as overwhelming nausea hit her. “Scuse me,” she managed and she raced towards the master bathroom.

  
Bucky

“Sam,” Bucky greeted gruffly, fighting the instinct to go with Darcy, to rub her back or hold her hair.

“I have something I want to show you guys,” Daisy said, elbowing them both aside to get to the living room. That was when Bucky saw it, Sam's ICER pistol reflected in the foyer mirror. Bucky reached back towards his.

In a heartbeat, both men had their pistols aimed at each other.

“Why are you pulling your gun on me?” Sam yelled.

“Why are you pulling _your_ gun on_ me_?”

Sam gave a half a shake of his head and explained, “Because you were captured by Hydra on our last mission.”

“Good reason,” Bucky admitted. “Was gonna tell you.”

“When?” Sam yelled.

“Now.”

“Why not_ then_?”

Bucky countered with, “Because I thought _you_ might be Hydra.”

“I'm not Hydra!”

“Well, I now that _now_, Sam.”

Daisy came back in with a completely dumbstruck look on her face. “What the hell have you and Darcy been doing in the living room? And are you aware that she's puking her guts up in the bathroom?”

“Long story, and yes.” He started to lower his ICER and Sam was doing the same when Kate came bounding through the front door.

“Hey, guys. What's up?” The three agents followed her into the living area, Sam and Bucky kept their guns drawn, this time Bucky pointed his at Kate, and Sam followed suit. “I miss a team meeting or something?” Kate glanced at the guns in Sam's and Bucky's hands, “Okay, I clearly missed something.” Kate took in the whiteboard and general disarray. She pointed to the pot of coffee and asked, “Is that decaf or regular? Prob'ly not decaf judging by you guys.”

“Katie? What are you doing here?” Bucky growled.

“I need a reason to hang out with my buds? Whatever. Friday said Daisy was here. I wanted her to look at this.” She held out her phone and handed it to Daisy.

“The Kermit meme?”

“Seriously guys? You still have your guns on me? What? You think I'm a Skrull?” She took a long look at the whiteboard and noted her name in one column. “HYDRA? How insulting.”

Darcy emerged from the bedroom, her eyes reddened from vomiting. “Kate?”

Bucky reached over and put his hand over Sam's pistol and lowered it, tucking his own away at the same time. He wasn't about to risk his wife being shot, even if it was with an ICER.

“Hey, Darce.” Casually, Kate took a sip of coffee. “You realize your dumbass husband thinks I'm Hydra? Oh my god, this IS decaf, isn't it?”

“Um...”

Darcy blinked a few times like she was going to answer but Daisy interrupted, “Darcy come look at this.”

Bucky approached his wife before she got to Daisy on the couch. He kissed the side of her head and asked, “You all right, Darlin?”

“You worry too much,” she responded, giving his hand a quick squeeze before she joined Daisy in front of the laptop.

“Not gonna stop, either,” he promised her. To Kate, he asked, “Bishop? Your boyfriend still at the main building?”

“Yeah, having breakfast with Gabe. You going up there? Because if you are I'd appreciate it if you'd grab me some actual coffee.”

“Sam,” Bucky gave a little nod to Sam, asking him to come with him. When they got outside he explained, “Ty Johnson took me at that base. But he has to pass through another dimension to travel and when he does it wipes out Hydra's programming.”

“I knew the first part. Didn't know the second,” Sam said.

“He told me that at least one Avenger has been compromised. And I can't eliminate Kate. I want to, but I can't.”

“I'll keep an eye on her.”

“Protect Darcy.”

“You don't even need to ask, man.”

“I need to get to Reyes before I run out of time.”

“Wait, what does that mean?”

“Don't have time to explain, Sam. Take care of our girls. All of them.”

As he darted toward the main building, he heard Sam yell out, “All three of them would kick your ass for saying something like that. And your cat would eat you!”

* * *

  
  


Robbie stood in front of Bucky with one eyebrow raised. “So you want me to let out the demon who erased your memory on purpose?”

Bucky argued back, “I don't think it was the demon, I think it was more the trauma...”

Robbie repeated Bucky's earlier proposal, “You want me to let out the demon that erased your memory, open a portal to a dark dimension and send you through it so you can chat with someone who you know has been brainwashed by Hydra?”

“Yep.”

Robbie was surprisingly calm when he asked, “Are you insane? If something happened to you I’d disappoint Strange and Banner. I’d piss off your wife and my girlfriend who has no compunction whatsoever about shooting me. And I’d upset Captain America.” 

“You don’t want him to give you the look.” 

“I really don’t.” 

“I trust you, Robbie. And Darcy knows.”

“So I just need to worry about getting shot in the ass with an arrow.”

“And Steve's eyebrows of disappointment,” Bucky added.

“And you want to do this now?” Robbie looked around Banner's safe room, as if he was afraid or maybe hoping, that someone would come in and stop them.”

“Tony took a team to a Hydra base. If it was a trap, it's likely that Hydra will send Ty to capture me.”

“All the more reason...”

“I need to get to the Dark Dimension that he passes through so I can communicate with him. Please, Robbie. You owe me.”

“You play dirty.” Robbie conjured a chain that was slung over his shoulder and across his body. He let it fall to the ground and then started twirling it around. It caught fire as it circled around. Bucky glanced up to Robbie's eyes that burned in his skull. He let go of the chain, but it remained in place, embers shooting off of it. Robbie's head burst into a red hot fire, leaving only a skull. He grabbed Bucky's arm and dragged him through the portal that had emerged from the chain's flames.

  
  


  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title taken from Hell's Bells by AC/DC


	28. Damn the Dark, Damn the Light

Bucky

“We in the right place?” Robbie asked, looking around.

“Yep.”

Bucky went straight into the gas station sticking out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but mist.

“No one has been here since you were,” Robbie said, following him inside.

“Good.”

“Are you gonna ask how I know?”

“No. Not gonna ask how you got here on the first try either. Above my pay grade.”

Robbie absently picked up a magazine. “So, now we wait?”

“Now we wait.”

To himself, Robbie mumbled, “And Kate complained about my stoicism.”

Bucky let out a sigh, “Sorry, kid. Just... nervous.”

“Nervous about what, exactly? You said this was information gathering only.”

“Wandering around in a Dark Dimension doesn't make you nervous?” Bucky deflected.

“Not particularly. Kind of familiar for me. Haven't been in one in a while, though. Not since Banner and Strange helped me get the demon under control.”

“I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I don't know who to trust.”

“I'm flattered you trust me, considering I wiped out your memory.”

“I told you, that wasn't your fault.”

Robbie froze and his eyes glowed orange. “He's coming.”

  
  


Darcy

“What do you think?” Sam asked Darcy quietly.

Darcy finished watching the video on her own laptop for the third time. She and Sam were sitting on stools at the kitchen island while Kate and Daisy had commandeered the couch.

“I think Daisy is right. There's something wrong with Mack.”

“I can't believe May and Coulson didn't notice,” Sam sighed.

“None of us noticed. I mean, it's Mack. Robotic and gruff is kind of normal for him.”

Daisy yelled from the couch, “Got it!”

“What did you find, Baby Girl?”

“This meme that Kate's brother-in-law sent? It's from her father. I encrypted the message and... well...see for yourself.”

Darcy read out loud, “M compromised. R, P, and L captured. Hydra knows.” Darcy took it all in. Mack compromised. Rodriguez, Pym, and Lang captured.

“Hydra knows what?” Kate asked somewhat frantically, “They know about my dad being undercover?”

“Gonna be okay, Katie Kate,” Sam soothed, a hand coming down on her shoulder.

“You don't know that. You think Clint is being brainwashed by Hydra right now!”

“We don't...” Sam started. Clint was probably fine. He'd only made the list because he was off the base. But Kate wasn't going to be reasoned with right now.

“And where is Bucky?” Kate yelled, the hysteria dripping off of her in waves.

“Hey,” Darcy took one of Kate's hands. “I'd be absolutely freaking out right now if Bucky wasn't safe. Right?”

“Right,” Kate nodded, unconvinced.

“He's with Robbie. They're fine.”

“Where...” Kate prodded.

“Um... a dark dimension?”

Kate looked around at the three of them in disbelief. “My boyfriend and one of my best friends are in a dark dimension? The same best friend that my boyfriend made go bonkers?” She said it all with an eerie calm.

“He didn't really go bonkers...” Daisy started.

“Don't.” Kate pointed a finger at Daisy. “You. All. Suck. None of you thought to tell me?”

“I didn't know!” Daisy argued.

“I only knew he was with Robbie,” Sam said.

“I knew everything,” Darcy admitted. “And see? Still not freaking out. I'm sure they're both fine.”

  
  


Bucky

The flaming skull of the Ghost Rider burned next to Bucky while a black, oily mist hissed as it emerged in front of him.

“Reyes. Get it together.”

The fire died down a bit, but Robbie's face still wasn't visible, only a skull was.

“Robbie. You got to take control pal.”

With that, Robbie turned his head in a circle. His face was back but his eyes still glowed orange. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“S'alright. You're back.”

With a pop, a young man in a black cloak appeared from the mist. Ty took two steps forward and shook his head. “You shouldn't be here,” he said to Bucky.

“Need to get you away from Hydra, son.”

“How is she?” Ty asked, ignoring Bucky's statement. Ty kept his cloak on, hiding his face from them.

“Tandy is doing good. She's good. She misses you.”

“Thank you for getting her out. She was no good to them.”

“No good? Why?” It was Robbie who asked this.

“Because of her light. She couldn't be brainwashed.”

Robbie shrugged, “I don't know what that means.”

“Who the hell are you, anyway? A loa? A demon?” Ty asked.

“Got one in me. My name's Robbie. You're Ty?”

“Yeah.” Ty turned back to Bucky, “So if you're here, then you aren't at the base.”

“I figured you'd be passing through. Thought I might try to take you back to Tandy.”

“You don't get it. As soon as I'm back in the real world, the programming comes right back. I'll try to take you. I'll take whoever they want me to.”

“And who do they want?” Robbie asked.

Even under the hood, Bucky could see that Ty screwed up his face as he thought, “The Black Panther and the Princess. Um...Quake. I remember that they thought she was interesting. I don't... it's all fuzzy.”

“The spiders?” Bucky asked, knowing full well that Peter was at the base.

“No. Osborn has a new pet project. And the spiders didn't take to the wipe. I don't remember much. I'm sorry Agent Barnes. Thinking about it gives me a headache.”

“Two more names. That's all. Stark and Banner?” They were also at the base, and Bucky wanted to make sure they weren't targets.

“Stark's a normal human. Unremarkable.” When Ty said that he sounded robotic like he was quoting Zola. Bucky found it unnerving.

“Okay, Ty. That's all. It's ok.” Bucky reached for Ty's arm to pat it, and the cloak fell from his face.

“Shit,” Bucky said under his breath. Ty had a huge bruise over his left cheekbone and another across his forehead. Dried blood sat in his ear. His right eye was blackened and his lip was split. “What else have they done?”

Ty looked at him sadly, “You know exactly what they've done.”

“Take me,” Bucky said quietly but firmly. “Take me to Zola.”

“No!” Ty pulled back with a jerk.

“Are you fucking kidding?” Robbie snapped.

“They're torturing him,” Bucky snapped back at Robbie. “If Zola has me...”

“Then they'll torture you both instead!”

While Bucky was turned towards Robbie, Ty took two steps back into the same black mist he had emerged from and was gone.

  
  


Darcy

The entire group jumped when a flaming portal appeared in the living room. Bucky came through first, stumbling as if he were pushed. Robbie stalked out after him. Before they could process that the men had returned Bucky had righted himself and was grabbing the front of Robbie's black t-shirt and pulling his left hand back as if a punch were coming.

Robbie just stared him down.

“What happened?” Kate asked quietly, the first to recover her senses.

“Ask your pal,” Robbie replied, never taking his eyes from Bucky's face.

Darcy reached out and placed her hand over Bucky's hand, the one that was clenched in a fist. “Babe?”

He deflated, and let Robbie go. “Sorry,” bubbled out of his mouth. Darcy wasn't sure who it was meant for.

“We were supposed to be getting intel, Barnes,” Robbie growled, “Not sacrificing our bodies to Hydra.”

“What happened?” It was Sam who asked.

“Barnes asked the kid to take him to Zola.”

Darcy felt the world go fuzzy. She dropped Bucky's hand and concentrated on her breathing.

Under her breath, Kate muttered, “Dumb ass.”

“He was being tortured!” Bucky argued.

“And sacrificing yourself isn't going to change that!” Robbie yelled back.

“I need some air...” Darcy said quietly.

“Darlin...” Bucky started.

“I'll come with you,” Sam offered.

“No... I want to be alone.”

Darcy stepped out onto the front porch. As soon as she closed the door, everyone inside started yelling, so she walked. That wasn't the plan. He was supposed to get as much information as he could from Ty. They were supposed to formulate a plan from that information. How could Bucky think that she would be fine with him going in with no backup? With no location or way out? Selfishly she wondered how he could do that to her.

Did he think that he meant that little to her? Hadn't she told him and showed him how much she loved him?

At that moment she realized he hadn't said it to her. Not since he'd lost his memory.

Maybe... maybe their family meant less to him than his revenge. Or maybe their family meant less than his own self-loathing.

Darcy kept walking, letting her thoughts twist and turn until she felt sick.

She wandered aimlessly until she found herself in the greenhouse. It wasn't until she was indoors that she heard a voice calling her name.

“Darcy? I've been calling you for five minutes. Are you okay?”

She sighed at her friend. “Hey, Rhodey. Not so much.”

“Honey, you look pale. Are you sick?”

“No... I just...”

“Need a hug?” He finished warmly.

“Very much yes.”

He wrapped her up in his arms. But, strangely, his hand went up under her hair to her neck. She was about to pull back when the sting of a needle pricked her skin. She stumbled back away from him three steps. Rhodey reached for her again.

The greenhouse door opened with a bang. Multiple footsteps came running in.

Tandy yelled, “Hey! Get away from her!”

A bright orb of light hit Rhodey in the chest while Darcy crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title taken from The Chain by Fleetwood Mac


	29. Clouds of Mystery

Bucky

Bucky exploded in frustration when Darcy shut the door and walked away. “Damn it!”

“Epic levels of dumb-assery,” Kate muttered.

“Not helping, Kate,” Sam scolded.

Bucky turned his frustration on Robbie, even though he was actually angry with himself, “What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking about keeping you out of Hydra’s clutches. I was thinking about sparing the woman I love from the pain of losing her friend.”

Kate lit up, “You love me?”

As if it was obvious, Robbie simply said, “Yeah.”

Then he reached out his hand for her and pulled Kate in close.

Sam watched with a smile, while Daisy put her hand on Bucky's arm and coaxed him to sit down. “Bucky, honey, I know you want to help Ty. And we _will._ But jumping in headfirst like that....what were you thinking?”

“I wasn't... I wasn't thinking. I just saw...I wanted to help him.”

“You have to _start _thinking, Bucky Bear,” Daisy soothed. “You have a family to think about now, right?”

Bucky narrowed his eyes. Did she know? Or was she talking about all of them?

She patted his hand. “So this was supposed to be intelligence gathering, right?”

Bucky nodded.

“So did you get any? Intelligence?”

“Um...yeah. The spiders can't be wiped. Neither could Tandy.”

“The spiders could come in handy,” Sam said.

“Peter's with Stark but we should get Gwen and Miles down here,” Bucky said.

“Hydra wants Shuri and T'Challa,” Robbie offered. “So we can trust them too.”

Kate poked Robbie in the ribs, “Hey! Were we brainwashed?”

“No, sweetheart, I think we're good.”

“Good. I have enough people bossing me around without being an agent of Hydra too,” Kate sighed, “So...we gonna rescue Ty, Hope, Scott, Elena, Mack, and my Dad or what?” She ticked them off on her fingers as she said their names.

“We're gonna rescue them,” Sam assured her. “And we're gonna take Hydra down in the process. Daisy, tell em what you've got.”

“Shuri and I worked on a virus that may destroy Zola. I thought I might have to scrap it, but since she's not compromised we're good to go. The problem is, we have to catch him at the base. If he moves through the internet... it won't work. And there's also this guy...” Daisy pulled a grainy picture up on the laptop. “Bucky doesn't recognize him and there's nothing on facial rec. He has to be way up in the hierarchy though.”

“The first time I saw Ty he told me Zola wasn't in charge. There was another guy. He didn't know his name. But he said he's recruiting.”

“So we definitely need to capture the mystery man,” Sam said. “Anybody have a plan?”

“I let them take me,” Bucky started. The others exploded in protest with Kate's “Dumb Ass!” being the loudest.

“Just... let me finish! I take a tracker. You guys can chase me down. Daisy can go in with the computer virus.”

“I'm not sure that a tracker will work,” Robbie offered, “Going through the dark dimension...it might fry it.”

“Well then it's a good thing we have an invisible Spiderman at our disposal,” Kate said. “We can send Miles with Bucky.”

“Good. That's good, Kate.”

“One more problem,” Sam said, “How do we keep the other teams from being dispatched to the Hydra bases?”

“Please,” Daisy scoffed, “That's child's play.”

“You can hack Friday?” Sam asked, rather impressed.

“Friday? I need a favor,” Daisy called out.

“Cheater,” Sam muttered.

“Yes, Agent Johnson?” Friday responded.

“Can you tell me the location of Miles Morales?”

“Location unknown.”

“What?” Bucky asked with alarm, “Friday, location of Tandy Bowen.”

“Unknown.”

Daisy said quietly, “Shuri.”

Bucky barked out, “Friday location of Shuri!”

“Unknown.”

“No, Buck,” Daisy shook her head. “It was Shuri. She's the only one besides me who can hack Friday.”

Sam pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed, “Gwen isn't answering.”

“They left,” Kate speculated, “They figured it out too, and they left.”

“How do we communicate with them?” Robbie asked. Then he took a breath and asked, “Friday, is my brother at the facility?”

“Unknown.”

“My wife?” Bucky asked, expecting to hear that she was wandering around the greenhouse.

“Unknown.”

  
  


Darcy

“She's coming around,” a soft masculine voice announced.

Darcy opened her eyes just enough to see Miles' big brown eyes staring down at her.

“Five more minutes,” she mumbled.

“Nope,” Miles chirped. “Time for school!”

“Miles,” another masculine voice scolded, “she was just sedated, let her sleep.”

“Thanks, Gabe,” Darcy mumbled. “You're my favorite.”

“Aw come on,” Gwen teased, “Gabe is no one's favorite. You sure she didn't get a hallucinogen?”

Shuri sounded offended when she offered, “She just got a sedative. And she's going to be fine. So is the little one.” That last bit Shuri whispered into her ear. “Tandy told me, she wanted to make sure I knew.”

Darcy allowed her eyes to open. There was a group hovering near her. Tandy and Miles were near her left shoulder. Gabe was near her left knee. Gwennie was across from him on her right. And Shuri was placed near her right ear. “I wasn't dreaming this, was I?”

“I'm afraid not,” Shuri replied, easing Darcy into a sitting position.

Darcy looked around, past the kids. She wasn't on a quinjet, but she could see clouds outside the window, moving by. “Who's flying this thing?”

“My brother.”

“Rhodey?”

“There is a holding cell in the back of the plane with Nakia. He doesn't remember anything after asking if you wanted a hug,” Gwen explained.

“How did you know?”

“Well,” Miles explained. “We got to talking last night. First I mentioned that I overheard Rhodes tell Tony that he'd had blackouts.

Gabe picked up, “Then we talked about how he came back from the Hydra base where Bishop was, but no one else has come back.”

Then Gwen added, “Plus, no one has heard from Hope, Scott or YoYo.”

“Didn't take a genius to figure out he was compromised,” Tandy finished.

“Excuse me, it did take a genius,” Shuri teased. “They all just kept saying it was 'weird'. I put it together.”

“Yeah, well I'm the one who thought he might target Darcy,” Tandy said with an eye-roll and a grin.

“Why?” Darcy swung her legs down off the biobed. “Why me?”

Darcy noticed out of the corner of her eye that Gwen had gestured for Gabe and Miles to leave her alone, leaving Darcy with just Shuri and Tandy.

“Because you're Bucky's anchor,” Tandy explained, “I mean, he cares about all of us, but you... nothing matters more to him. And if Zola wants to break Bucky down, getting rid of you is the best way to do it.”

Darcy let her insecurities rush over her and gave her head a half shake. “Steve, or Sam...” she argued.

“I'm not saying Steve or Sam couldn't bring him back if he were wiped, but Darcy... I've seen Bucky's hopes. They revolve around you. Around your future together.”

Darcy wiped away a tear. “Really?”

“You seem surprised,” Shuri responded.

“Today he tried to....” Darcy stopped herself. Telling Shuri and Tandy that Bucky had almost surrendered himself to Hydra required some back story. “He saw Ty.”

“I figured,” Tandy nodded. “He was in my room last night. Ty, not Bucky. He looked lost like he didn't know why he was there. Then he blinked out. Mystical security at the Compound? Not as good as the Tower, by the way.”

“I'm sorry. We should have told you.”

“Not if you thought I was compromised too. So, I'm guessing that Ty's programming goes 'poof' when he's in the Dark Dimension?”

“And it comes back in the real world,” Darcy nodded. “He told Bucky today that you weren't compromised. And the spiders too. And he's after you,” Darcy told Shuri.

“Not surprising. I am a remarkable specimen,” Shuri said, with mock humility. “Have you eliminated any other potentially programmed agents of Hydra?”

“Besides all of you? Your brother. They want him too. I think Robbie is clean. He was in the Dark Dimension today and didn't mention any brainwashing while he was with Derrick Bishop. That probably clears Kate too. Daisy and Sam haven't had any exposure to Hydra. That's all we know for sure.” Darcy didn't mention that she wasn't sure about Robbie or Kate because Robbie and Bucky were close to coming to blows when they came back, and she retreated from the drama.

“Delta team?” Shuri asked, “Or the Guardians?”

“Bucky isn't convinced they aren't Skrulls.” Thoughts of Bucky washed over her. The look on his face when she said she wanted to be alone... he looked devastated and guilty. Broken-hearted. “Bucky? Does he know where I am?”

“Not yet. But we will tell him,” Shuri assured her. She then gave her a little bow and went towards the cockpit.

“I'm sure Bucky is worried sick,” Tandy told Darcy.

“I'm not sure he's even noticed I'm gone,” Darcy said sadly.

“Don't be dumb,” Tandy scolded. “I told you, I've seen his hopes. He loves you more than anything.”

'But it would be nice if he said it' Darcy thought to herself.

  
  


Bucky

“Bucky Bear, you've got to stop pacing,” Daisy complained to Bucky between mouse clicks.

“I'm not pacing,” Bucky argued back as he continued to pace around the living room.

“Why don't you go pack? Everyone else is packing. Sam is packing our stuff. Robbie and Kate are packing theirs...you aren't packing.” she complained.

“You aren't packing...” Bucky mumbled.

“No. I'm hacking. Trying to find out where the damned jet went.”

“You found the jet?” Bucky brightened.

“Were you listening to me at all?” She arched her eyebrow up at him. “Of course you weren't, you were in raging Mama Bear mode.”

“What jet?” He sighed.

“Sit.”

Bucky obeyed and sat next to her on the couch, she pulled up a grainy video on a laptop. “See?”

“What am I looking at, Daze?”

“A Wakandan jet,” she smiled.

“Looks like a shadow.”

“Unsurprisingly, Wakanda is pretty good with the stealth tech. Fortunately, when it comes to computers, I'm better.”

“You think Darcy is on the jet?”

“I'm pretty sure.” She appraised his face openly and asked, “You gonna be okay Honey Bear?”

“I don't know. I screwed things up with Darcy.”

“Not permanently, honey. Trust me. You two will be fine,” she drew out the fine as if it were two syllables.

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because I know you from before Darcy and I know you _now_. Darcy makes you better. You'll fix it.”

“I don't remember. Meeting you,” he clarified.

“It's not as exciting as how you met Sam or Darcy. Less stinky than how you met Kate. Goats, Bear? Really?”

“My goats didn't stink.”

  
  


_Daisy_

_As soon as they disembarked the plane, Coulson started acting weirdly giddy. It didn't take Daisy long to figure out why. Coulson kept looking over at the Winter Soldier talking to the Falcon out in front of the compound entrance. _

_Coulson grinned widely at Daisy. “I can't believe it's really him. James Buchanan Barnes, Howling Commando and best friend of Captain America.”_

“_You're drooling Coulson,” Daisy teased._

“_I'm not... he's a living legend, you know.” Coulson met the man's eyes and quickly glanced away. “Have some respect,” Coulson scolded Daisy._

“_I'm not the one behaving like a schoolgirl, Coulson. Go talk to him.”_

“_No. I couldn't.”_

“_I'm gonna talk to him,” Daisy shrugged. She could hear Coulson whispering protests behind her back as she strode purposefully over to the bench where the Winter Soldier was sitting. As she walked away from the bus, the Falcon passed by her, probably going to help with their supplies. He gave her a quick nod as he passed. Daisy turned quickly for a second look at a man who may have had the best smile she'd ever seen and smiled with satisfaction when she saw that he had glanced back too._

_She plopped down on the bench and sat down next to the Winter Soldier like it was no big deal. “Hey.”_

“_You can tell your friend that he doesn’t have to be afraid of me,” he nodded over to Coulson._

“_Afraid of you? Dude, he’s fanboying all over you. You’re Bucky Barnes. Caps best pal. He has trading cards”_

“_Trading cards?” _

“_They’re vintage. Daisy Johnson. Nice to meet you.”_

“_Back at you.” _

_Daisy appraised him with her head tilted to the side. He self consciously started feeling his beard for stray bits of anything and looked down at his clothes. “What?”_

_Daisy said simply, “You need a haircut.” _

“_Oh. Kay.” _

“_And you should wear blue. The black makes you look...”_

_He raised a single eyebrow, “Dangerous?”_

“_Pfft. You really think you're hot shit, don't you? I've met scarier. Besides you're wearing a friendship bracelet.”_

“_They're called Kimoyo beads.”_

  
  


Bucky

“The beads!” Daisy exclaimed.

“The what?”

“Kimoyo beads. Wakandan tech. You used to wear them all the time. It was a trust issue thing, you wanted to be able to get a hold of Shuri quickly. Do you know where they are?”

“Daisy, I don't remember where anything is.”

“Shit. Sorry. Well, start looking, Bucky Bear!”

After a few minutes of frantic digging through drawers and cabinets, Bucky found something.

“Daze? Is this it?”

“Yes! Just tap here and....”

A hologram of Shuri's face appeared above the bead Daisy had tapped, “Well it's about time!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Who'll Stop the Rain by CCR


	30. The Sad Man Behind Blue Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long... I'm an RN in the middle of the pandemic

Darcy

“Maybe I’m just crazy,” he sighed.

Shuri’s lab was surprisingly warm and inviting, as far as labs went. Otherwise, Darcy was sure that Shuri’s patient would have bolted for the hills by now. Or at the very least he would have had to be restrained. But other than his wide-eyed expression, he was being fairly cooperative.

“James, be quiet and hold still,” Shuri scolded.

“Yeah, James,” Darcy teased, “Be quiet and hold still.”

Rhodey suddenly started twitching his nose, like on Bewitched. He reached for it, and Darcy snorted out a laugh.

“Agent Rhodes, please!” Shuri complained.

“Sorry. I had an itch.”

“Give me your hand,” she demanded.

“I should probably wash it first…”

Shuri grabbed him by the wrist and asked, “Darcy, could you hold this fool still for a second?”

Darcy took Rhodey’s wrist and gave him a little squeeze of reassurance.

“Darcy, I’m so sorry…”

She looked down at him warmly, “Sweetie, you’ve said that about ten times now. It’s getting repetitive.”

Meanwhile, Shuri had magnified his finger and with an electric tool removed something. “Got it. The reason your nose itched was because I removed the nano-technology through your nasal passages.”

“Ew,” he commented.

“That’s how they brainwashed him?” Darcy asked.

“Mmm-hmm,” Shuri replied, completely absorbed in the technology in front of her.

“I don’t remember anything being implanted in my brain.”

“Because it was injected,” Shuri replied, distractedly.

“Wait…injected..? Did I try and do that to Darcy? Did I _do_ that to Darcy? Is one of those in her brain?”

Shuri stopped, smiled, and gave a little eye-roll. “Agent Rhodes, who do you think you’re talking to? I’ve scanned Darcy already for this tech. It’s not there. It’s still in the syringe.”

“What if it had been?” Darcy asked, the wheels turning in her head.

“But it wasn’t…” Shuri argued.

“But Hydra doesn’t know that. I’m sure you’ll be able to get the location Rhodey was supposed to take me to out of that thingamabob.”

Rhodey shook his head, “You aren’t thinking….?”

“Undercover Darcy.”

“Oh HELL no,” was Rhodey’s response.

Shuri lit up, “Undercover missions are fun!”

“No!” Rhodes repeated, “I’m already going to have to deal with the ‘Wrath of Barnes’. I’m not supporting this idea. No. No. NO.”

“But going undercover with me? Think of the stories you could tell,” Darcy wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

“Please tell me you’re messing with me,” Rhodes begged.

“I’ll get Nakia, she’ll give you some excellent tips!” Shuri chirped.

They watched Shuri practically skip out of the lab. Darcy allowed her face to fall.

“Darcy? What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that I have to stop Bucky from doing something stupid.”

“By doing something stupid yourself?”

“You’ll be there to protect me.”

“Great. No pressure.”

“This could work. You and I go to wherever they wanted you to deliver me. We send the team a message. And then they descend upon the base. Boom.”

“Boom,” Rhodey repeated.

“And Bucky doesn’t go in alone…”

Bucky

“The kid is gonna hear about it, that’s all I have to say,” Robbie grumbled from his seat next to Daisy. “Running away like that…”

“He didn’t run away,” Kate argued. She was sitting on the floor between the copilot and pilot’s seat, organizing her arrows in her quiver. “I mean, sure, Gabe took off with a bunch of other teenagers and snuck away from the Avengers facility on a Wakandan jet, but doesn’t every kid?”

“It’s like a rite of passage,” Daisy added.

Bucky stayed at the back of the jet, holding his cat in his arms. He had managed to avoid Sam’s knowing gaze for a while. He knew it couldn’t last.

“So I’m thinking we need to talk about getting you back into therapy,” Sam said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Well, we’re headed back to Wakanda. Wanna put me back on ice while you’re at it?” The words were cruel, but there was no venom behind them. Bucky was just too tired.

“You remember the name of the doctor you saw there?”

Bucky gave a reluctant nod.

“Probably won’t have time for more than one session. But when we get back home, I can get you back in with the therapist you’d been seeing.”

“Don’t remember seeing any therapist.”

“Yeah, well. You did.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Daisy hand over the controls of the jet to Robbie with an admonishment not to crash it. Kate and Daisy were making their way over.

“Yeah. Should probably see a therapist for Darcy. I guess.”

“Not for Darcy, Buck. For you.” Sam sighed, “You know when you met her for the first time outside of the Soul Stone you had been an Avenger for a while. You were doing well. You'd made peace with your past. You were ready to have real friendships and real relationships. You actually liked yourself enough that you could love her. Then the Ghost Rider took all of that and you had to start all of it over.”

Bucky glanced up towards the cockpit, hoping that Robbie didn’t flinch at that statement. He looked fine. Maybe he’d made peace with his baggage. Bucky certainly hadn’t.

“It’s not fair to Darcy,” Bucky muttered, stroking their cat to soothe himself.

“So what,” Kate scolded. “Life’s not fair. Love is definitely not fair. But it’s worth it.”

Daisy sat down next to him and rested her hand on his shoulder, “You aren't gonna let her slip away, are you Bucky Bear? Not with the baby coming.”

“You knew? How did you?”

“I've had more than one girl's night out with your wife. The woman has an iron stomach. And now she's vomiting all the time? Besides, I'm perceptive.”

“I figured it out too,” Kate confessed.

“I’m not perceptive. Daisy told me,” Sam admitted. “But if you’re looking for names, Sam works for both boys and girls… don’t name it Steve.”

“Becca Jane,” Bucky muttered. “Then Katie and Daisy.”

“Okay, that’s…wildly specific,” Sam questioned.

“Tandy, she showed me my hopes. That’s what I saw.”

“What else did you see?”

“Me. Content. Happy.” Bucky looked up at Sam, looked him right in the eye, and said, “I want to make that happen.”

* * *

Bucky had hoped Darcy would be waiting at the hanger when they landed in Wakanda. He’d wanted to apologize right away, instead of letting it hang over them. Instead he was greeted by Tandy, who stood there with her arms crossed and a wicked glare on her face.

“Hello, Dumbass.”

Kate walked by and chirped, “Oooh it's catching on.”

Bucky let out a shaky sigh and started walking towards the palace doors, clutching Gretel in his arms. “How mad is she?”

Tandy fell into step next to him. “Mad? She's not mad, you colossal idiot, she’s hurt. What were you thinking?”

“I was trying to save Ty.” Bucky stopped walking and pointed at her, Gretel grumbling at the jostling, “Your Ty.”

“No. I call bullshit.” Her arms crossed stubbornly over her chest again. “This is some self-loathing shit.”

“Language,” he scolded, as he started walking again. “Where is she?”

“The labs.”

“Does she even want to see me?”

“Of course she does... she loves you. God, you really are a dumb ass.”

Sam gave Bucky a reassuring pat on the back. “You had to adopt her. We could have left her at the base.”

“You’re a laugh riot, flyboy,” Tandy sassed. “Gimme Gretel, I’ll take her up to our suite.”

Bucky blinked but smiled faintly, “Our suite?”

“You’re the one that 'adopted' me. The Queen put me with you and Darcy,” she smirked. Then she gave a little head nod to Robbie and Kate, “Walk with me you two, I have something I want to discuss.”

Bucky almost stopped her, the girl was probably up to something stupid. But he was interrupted by Shuri who teased as she approached, “Took you long enough."

"Darcy?" Bucky asked, without preamble.

"She’s fine. I remember you used to worry for my safety," she teased with a smile.

He turned around and went back the few steps he'd walked past her. He wrapped his friend up in a quick hug and muttered, "Glad you’re safe, Princess."

She pulled away and gave him a quick punch on the arm and warned, "Room A113, and she’s not happy with you."

"Yeah. That’s going around,"

Darcy

I think it’s a terrible idea,” Rhodes said for the fifth time.

“Yeah, sweetie, I got that,” Darcy rolled her eyes.

“There is merit to it James,” Nakia argued on Darcy’s behalf. “Darcy has proven herself capable more than once.”

“Capable of what?”

Darcy swung her gaze over to Bucky, who was hovering in the doorway. Uncomfortable seconds ticked by as they stared at each other.

Rhodes broke the silence with muttering under his breath, “Capable of reckless stupidity.”

Bucky broke eye contact with Darcy and with undisguised hostility asked, “Why isn’t he restrained?”

“Because he doesn’t need to be,” Darcy snapped. “What? You think I’m stupid? You think I’ll just have cocktails with Agents of Hydra?”

“You did with me,” he snapped back.

Out of the corner of her eye, Darcy saw Rhodey gesture for Nakia to join him and comment, “Yeah. We need to _go_.”

Darcy glared at Bucky for a minute longer before she steeled herself and stated with a calmness that she wasn’t feeling, “Shuri removed his programming. Rhodes is fine. Calm. Rational. Not making stupid decisions that cause the people that love him to feel like they’re less important than his revenge.”

Bucky deflated. With a sigh and cast down eyes he mumbled, “I'm sorry, Darcy, I wasn’t thinking...”

Darcy was pretty sure he wasn’t talking about his blow-up about Rhodes. No, he was talking about what he did in the Dark Dimension, “…About me? You weren't thinking about me. That's great.”

He sighed again, “You're mad.”

“I'm not mad... I'm hurt.” It sat there for a minute before she exploded, “Fuck it. No Babe, I'm mad. I'm livid. I'm... words aren't... argh!”

He reached out for her and she held up her hands, “Don't! Don't touch me.”

“Shit.” If he had looked deflated before, he looked positively crushed now. Her name came out of his mouth in a whisper, “Darcy...”

“It's not that I don't want you to touch me... its... if you hug me, I'll cry.” The tears erupted from her eyes even as she said, “And I don't want to cry. And I don't want to yell. Would you not look at me like a puppy who has just been kicked?”

“M'sorry.”

“Are you? Are you _really_ sorry? Or are you going to pull more of your self-sacrificing crap again?” And maybe it was because she was still hurt, or maybe she was just because she was mad that he made her cry, but the volume of her voice notched up again as she scolded, “Because it’s not heroic Bucky. It’s giving up. You can’t handle things so you just say, ‘fuck it.’"

His voice was quiet, but his left hand came down hard on the table next to him when he growled, “That’s not what I was doing!"

“Don’t fight,” a childlike voice begged.

Tandy stood in the doorway, looking less like a teenager and more like a little girl. Darcy knew her history. Her father was abusive and died in the accident that gave Tandy her powers. Her mom spiraled into depression and drug abuse, finally overdosing and dying a few months before Tandy wound up in the hands of Hydra. She didn’t need to see them fighting.

“It’s okay, Tandy,” Darcy reached for her.

“I’m going to go for a walk. Cool off,” Bucky mumbled. On his way out he gave Tandy a little touch on the arm. “S’okay, pumpkin.”

Bucky

The walk had done him good. He went out to his old hut. Fed the goats. He wasn’t sure if they remembered him. But the kids did. They weren’t kids anymore either. Time marched on, even if he couldn’t remember it.

The suite in the palace was more opulent than Bucky was comfortable with. Small amounts of clutter already littered the living area. Darcy had already settled in. And Gretel had made herself at home in the middle of the master bedroom.

He wandered out onto the balcony.

In front of him, Wakanda stretched out like heaven. Bustling and happy below, peaceful and natural in the distance. God, he loved the place.

A firm, confident, but somehow feminine knock sang out from the mahogany door leading to the suite. He called out to whomever it was to come in. There were no threats here. Not here.

Light footsteps crossed the room and came out to the balcony, “How’s Steve?”

Bucky smiled faintly but didn’t turn to Nakia. She clarified, “The goat.”

“Reckless and stupid Just like his namesake,” he answered, still staring out at the woods beyond the dome. The stood in silence admiring the scenery until Bucky felt obliged to offer, “You know this is the last place I remember before… Right over there in those woods that’s the last place I remember being.”

“You’ve been here a few times since. You were here for weeks after Hydra destroyed your arm when you saved Pepper. Dr. Cho and Tony Stark, Shuri, and Dr. Fitz had quite a lot of fun working on the replacement.” She let out a little laugh. “You and Fitz. The two of you bonded right away. He would just ramble on and on and you just sat back and enjoyed the monologue. He liked how you listened to him. And you liked the fact that he treated you like he treated everyone else.”

They settled back into a comfortable silence again. A faint smile crossed Bucky’s face. “I love it here. Shuri and the people… I hadn’t been treated with any kind of kindness since I fell from the train.”

“And you don’t think you deserve kindness?”

“I’m trying… But deep down I still think I’m a monster.” Bucky gripped the edge of the balcony and steadfastly studied his knuckles.

“Decades without any kindness. That sounds very lonely.”

He looked down at the courtyard below where Sam and Daisy were chasing each other around like love-struck teenagers. “And now I look around and I see these people that say that they love me and I can’t imagine why.”

“Is that why you were going to let Hydra take you?”

“No… I just wanted to save the boy from everything I experienced. Decades of torture with no hope of rescue.”

“You were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to save another. That seems like the opposite of a monster to me. But there’s something else. What else were you thinking?”

“I was thinking… It’s stupid.”

She waited quietly. He knew it was a tactic she used as a spy. People were uncomfortable with silence and would offer something more. It wouldn’t work on him. But he wanted to tell her.

“I was thinking that I would be OK because she would find me no matter what… If Hydra were to take me... She’d find me.”

Nakia just nodded. Not needing to clarify that it was Darcy he was talking about.

And when he repeated it, it was more to himself than to Nakia. It was a whisper in the back of his mind that just escaped his lips, “No matter what, she’d find me.”

“Hmm.” With this Nakia gestured with a nod behind him.

Darcy stood there, tears streaking down her cheeks. Nakia gave Darcy a soft touch on the arm, as she walked away, shutting the door behind them and leaving them alone in their suite.

“Shit. That’s not fair. I’m mad at you and then you go and say that...”

Darcy sat down on one end of the sofa, she drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, her pose not inviting Bucky in.

She sighed and spoke quietly, “When Robbie told me what you did do you know what I thought? That you'd rather be with Hydra than with me.”

He opened his mouth to protest but was stopped by, “Don't. You don't have to tell me that's not true. I know it isn’t. I know you want me and this. I know it.”

He sat down at the other end of the sofa and listened as she continued, “I owe you an apology. When you realized who I was to you, I just assumed that we'd go right back to being everything to each other. I thought that you could just pick up where we had left off. But you can't. And it wasn't fair of me to expect it.

His voice came out funny-sounding like he was trying to fight off tears, “I'm sorry about everything I’ve put you through…”

“That's not... “ She turned on the couch to face him, sitting on her knees. “I can handle anything if you’re with me. But throwing yourself into the hands of the people that hurt you the most when you used to tell me you'd rather _die_ than be back there? Do you really hate yourself that much?”

Bucky didn't answer. He felt his jaw clench with frustration.

“I don't know how to fix that.” She scooted forward until she was close enough to put her hands on each side of his face. “I don't know how many times I have to tell you how wonderful and good and... I don't know how...” She dropped her hands into her lap and then stared at them, the words dropping out like she had no control over them. “I'm so sorry if I put too much on you. All of my expectations and then the baby... I'm sorry.” One tear streaked down her cheek. “I know you said you don't want out. But if you need time....”

He grabbed her wrists and pulled his hands towards him, until both of their hands, his and hers were resting over his heart. “I need you. Nothing else. Darcy, please....Please. Don't give up on me.”

“Never, Babe. I'd never do that.” She snuggled in close to his side and he arranged her legs so they were draped across his lap

With his forehead resting against hers, he told her, “You can't fix me, Darce. That has to be me. Sam thinks I need to get back into therapy… and I promise I will. But if you could, I don't know, just be here. Be you. I think it will be better. You make things better. Knowing you know everything and you still want me. Still fighting for me.”

“Of course I will, dummy. For better or worse, remember? Actually you don't remember. We should probably renew our vows. Make sure you get that 'obey' thing down.” She poked one finger into his chest.

“You're hilarious.”

“Yes. I am.”.. Darcy nestled her head onto his shoulder.

“Speaking of hilarious, I have this picture in my in my head of you and Jane Foster storming into a Hydra facility with flamethrowers. Is that a memory?”

She let out a giggle, “Yes, and no. I promised you I’d burn Hydra to the ground. And you suggested I take Jane because she’s…”

“Terrifying.”

“Right.”

There was the faintest knock on the door, and then it cracked open a bit, “Hey… safe to come in?”

“Yeah,” Bucky told Tandy. When she peeked in the doorway he extended the arm that wasn’t around Darcy. “C’mere,” he said softly. Darcy rearranged her legs so that Tandy could sit on the other side of Bucky. Tandy leaned her head against his shoulder too. “I promise you both, I won’t abandon you. I’ll always take care of my girls.”

“Women,” Tandy corrected.

“You’re seventeen.”

“Young woman.”

“Okay, young woman,” Bucky sighed. “The two of you are gonna be the death of me.”

“And on that note,” Tandy stood and smiled.

Bucky pinched the bridge of his nose, “Oh god, what are you planning, pumpkin?”

“Just a little trip outside the dome…”

“No.”

“…with Kate and Robbie. Robbie wants me to leave a message for Ty.”

“And you can’t do this inside the dome?” Bucky asked with a sigh.

“Nope. We already tried.”

“She’ll be fine, Babe,” Darcy soothed, gripping his bicep with reassurance. “Katie will be with them.”

“We live in a world where I am supposed to be reassured that Kate Bishop is the grown-up in the room… Take Sam too. Please.”

“I’ll take Sam too,” Tandy promised as she flounced out of the room.

“When did I get a teenage daughter?” he sighed.

“About that,” Darcy broached, “Her parents are dead and she’s a minor. Even the Avengers have to answer to social services.”

“What are you saying, Darlin?”

“She needs legal guardians.”

“I don’t think I qualify,” Bucky admitted.

“I think you do,” she kissed him softly.

* * *

“Where are T’Challa and Nakia?” Bucky asked as the group settled around Shuri’s lab. It wasn’t like a briefing at the Tower, where they all sat around a table. He’d been told that briefings at the compound were more casual, not that he remembered. It was funny though, how the same group of people trying to accomplish the same task would be so affected by the location.

Then again, Wakanda made him feel different.

“Well, as Darcy so astutely predicted, I was able to ascertain the location of the rendezvous point that Hydra had designated for Agent Rhodes to bring Darcy, and they are doing some reconnaissance,” Shuri explained.

“They’re not going in alone?” he asked with alarm.

“Reconnaissance only,” Shuri assured him. “Nakia is quite good at spycraft. She’ll keep my brother under control.”

“Let’s get started,” Daisy said with authority. She swiped her finger across a computer screen and threw three images into the air. One circa WW2, one a corporate portrait, and one a grainy surveillance photo. “Three heads of Hydra,” Daisy started, “Armin Zola, Norman Osborn, and our mystery man. As far as we can tell, each has very different agendas. Zola seems to want to restart the Winter Soldier program. We know he’s attempting to use the same techniques on enhanced individuals that he did on Bucky. Mind wipes, brainwashing… he did it to Ty Johnson and he tried to do it to Tandy, Miles, and Gwen.”

“And he’s obsessed with Bucky,” Tandy offered. “When I was there, he talked about pretty much nothing else.”

“And he’s moved into nanotech?” Kate asked.

“No,” Shuri said, “The nanotech is OsCorp. I saw the schematics when I was undercover. It was supposed to be for a human-dog interaction. For service dogs, military, police. He bastardized it and apparently created sleeper agents.”

“Sleeper agents,” Tandy shook her head. “Sounds more like the other guy’s thing. Osborn was all about creating enhanced individuals. He talked about evolution all the time. Like he was trying to create mutants or something. But that other guy? World domination. He scared me.”

“If Darcy and Rhodes were supposed to be sleeper agents, why bring them in? Why not keep them in with the Avengers?” Robbie asked.

“Why me at all?” Darcy asked. “I’m PR, not operations.”

Daisy cast her eyes down.

Bucky offered, “I think that was Zola. Zola wanted you. To break me.”

“I don’t think so,” Daisy said softly. “I mean, I think Zola wanted her, but…” Daisy took a deep breath. “I compared the timing of Rhodey’s blackouts with his computer activity. A few days before he tried to inject Darcy, he accessed Medical Records.”

Bucky let out a breath. The message sent to Kate from Derrick Bishop flashed through his mind. “They know.”

Her hand slid down to her abdomen. “The child of a super-soldier…” she said quietly. And then she let out an emphatic, “Well fuck that!”

“Darcy?” Tandy reached out to touch her gently.

Darcy was on her feet, “Fuck them and fuck that! I’ve had ENOUGH of Hydra. Coming after me, after my man and now they come after our KID? I’m taking those sons of bitches down,” She pointed at Rhodes and demanded, “Rhodey, take me to Hydra!”

Rhodes quietly asked, “Is this a hormone thing…or…?”

“I think Hydra is in deep shit,” Kate mused.

“Congratulations?” Miles said quietly. “About the baby? Congratulations.”

“Thanks, Miles, honey,” Darcy ran her hand quickly down her abdomen, “Wanna kick some Hydra ass with me?”

Bucky gently eased his wife down to a sitting position, “Darcy, darlin’, I think we may need a better plan than ‘let’s kick-ass’.”

“I’m going to ignore the irony of the fact that you, of all people, just said that to me.”

“You guys,” Kate smiled, “We have two ways in.”

“And allies on the inside,” Tandy added.

“Do you think you can turn Ty?” Gwen asked.

“I do.”

“Plus,” Miles added, “Scott and Hope.”

“I can turn Mack,” Daisy said with confidence.

“And my dad is on our side,” Kate smiled.

Darcy gave Bucky’s hand a squeeze and smiled at him. “Whaddya say, Babe? Wanna burn Hydra to the ground?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title taken from Behind Blue Eyes by the Who


	31. Zero Hour Nine AM

Darcy

Darcy knew exactly where Bucky would be. And he didn’t disappoint. He was standing on the balcony of their suite, looking down at the courtyard below, where Okoye was putting Tandy through a crash course in self-defense.

“I don’t like it,” he told her, without turning around.

Darcy placed her hand on the small of his back as she moved to stand next to him. “Believe me, Babe. You’ve made that abundantly clear.”

Darcy looked down at the training session. Tandy was good, if not a little undisciplined.

“She’s not an Avenger,” Bucky protested, “And a Hydra base… that’s not a healthy place for her.”

“It’s not a healthy place for anyone.”

He sighed and rolled his eyes, “Psychologically,” he clarified.

“She wants to help her soulmate. I get it.”

“Doesn’t mean I want her to go with us,” he protested.

“You were outvoted,” she reminded him. “She needs this.”

Bucky moved so that he was behind Darcy, trapping her between the balcony and his body, his arms wound around her, keeping her safe and warm. A rush of affection blossomed through her. She leaned up and placed a kiss on his jawline. Leaving her lips there, she murmured against his skin. “Babe. We have an entire suite to ourselves. Do you have any idea how rare make up sex is for us?”

“We don’t make up?” He asked, puzzled.

“We don’t fight much. I mean we sometimes make up things to be mad about. You know, for the excuse.”

“Yeah?” He let her lead him away from the balcony by the hand. Then he asked, “Like what?””

“You kiss me after eating black licorice.”

Puzzled again, Bucky asked, “And…?”

“Black licorice is vile,” Darcy explained matter-of-factly.

He replied with an indignant, “It is not.”

“See? We’re fighting about it. Now, pick me up and toss me in the bed and make up for the fact that I was really mad at you earlier.”

“Yes ma’am.”

He had her up in his arms in a heartbeat. She wrapped her legs around his waist and smiled down at his slightly smug expression.

“Don’t bite your lip and look adorable. Ruins the illusion,” she scolded.

“What illusion?” he asked, as he dropped her gently on the bed.

“That we’re mad at each other.” This time it was Darcy who rolled her eyes. But it was lost in the action of her shirt coming up and off.

“I was never mad at…” he explained as he crawled up her body.

“Stop!” He stopped, both talking and moving. Darcy put her finger over his lips and dared, “I leave coffee cups everywhere. You hate it.”

“I do?”

“You do.” She insisted as she tugged on his shirt. Up and off it went, joining Darcy’s on the floor.

“It’s not a charming quirk?” he asked, while he pulled one of the cups of her bra down.

“Nope. It’s an almost irreconcilable difference.”

“S’a shame,” she thought he said, just as his lips captured her nipple.

“Damned shame.”

Sam

Sam watched from the doorway of the computer lab. Daisy flitted from screen to screen, the tension radiating off of her in waves.

“Talk to me, Friday,” Daisy asked.

“It appears that Boss has landed back at the Compound with Mr. Parker and Doctor Banner. They did not engage with HYDRA.”

Moving to another screen, she asked, “Has he messed with your settings?”

“No Agent Johnson. Your lockout remains intact. No one at the Compound or Tower has access to my higher systems at this time.”

“Good. I’d hate for you to fall into Hydra’s hands.”

“Thank you, Agent Johnson.”

Sam finally took a step into the room. “How’s it going?”

She didn’t look over at him, but replied, “It’s going. Shuri finished her scanning device. They took off for the compound.” And with a move to another screen, she asked, “How’s our story holding up, Friday?”

“No concerns, Agent Johnson.”

“Good,” Daisy explained to Sam what he already knew, and he let her. “As far as the rest of the Avengers Initiative is concerned, T’Challa invited the kids to Wakanda, and we were dispatched to a Hydra base in Kenya. We’ll send a message to them saying we decided to come here for R&R.”

“You gonna sit down for a second, Daze?”

“Yeah… I’m just…” She finally made eye contact and her shoulders drooped a bit. “This can’t go wrong.”

“We have redundancies in place, it will be fine.” He took a step towards her, his arms out, inviting her to come closer.

“You really believe that?” She asked, stepping into his arms and resting her cheek against his chest. Sam smoothed her hair down the back of her head.

“I have to,” he said. “Besides, I have faith in our leader. Always have.”

“How about I just stay here forever?”

“In the computer lab?”

“In your arms.”

Sam pulled back to look into her face. Tipping Daisy’s chin up, he said, “You’re getting sappy on me. You must be overwhelmed. “

“There’s a difference between being a team leader and being THE leader. I hope Shuri’s scanner works.”

“You think that there is someone who could do a better job in this situation?”

Daisy ticked off the answers, “Coulson. Cap. Tony.”

“I have as much faith in you as I do in them. If not more.”

“Now who’s being sappy?” she replied with a little eye roll.

“It’s not sappy, Daze. I believe in you. I love you.”

“I love you too.” She rose up on her toes, using his body for balance, and kissed him softly. As she broke away she asked, “Do me a favor? Be careful? I don’t like sending you and Kate into a Hydra trap.”

“I’ll be careful. Promise. We’re gonna take off soon, just waiting on the go-ahead from T’Challa.”

“Maybe we should wait until Shuri…”

“Daze,” he interrupted, “We talked about this. We don’t know how long of a window we have. Hydra has to know that Rhodes left the base. They’re expecting a prisoner soon. “

Darcy

“Any word?” Darcy asked, tugging her shirt into place as she entered the living area of the suite. Bucky was supposed to be getting them something to drink, but as usual, he had become distracted.

She found him sitting on the couch flipping through the messages on his phone.

“From?”

“Anyone!” She sat down hard next to him with a sigh, earning a sideways smirk from her husband. “Patience is not one of my virtues,” she admitted.

“I’ve noticed. T’Challa and Nakia found the rendezvous point. They’re doing remote recon. Shuri has finalized her scanning equipment. She and Rhodes have taken a Wakandan jet to the compound to scan the team from the air. And the rest of us are waiting for Mack to call us and send us into a trap. And you know all of this already.”

“Yeah… I know.”

He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him, “Are you pouting?”

“A little. I mean…I was having a badass moment in that meeting and they shot it down.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“You’re not sorry. You’re relieved.”

Bucky explained patiently, “Rhodey doesn’t have his suit. And you’re a civilian. Odds are, they aren’t sending any of the Hydra higher-ups to that rendezvous. It makes more sense to send in Sam and Kate. They match your descriptions closely enough. And they have more experience in dangerous situations.”

“I have been in dangerous situations before,” she argued.

“I’ve heard,” he replied drily.

“And I’m a good shot.”

“I know.”

Her pout deepened, “You’re humoring me.”

“I am.”

“I've been kidnapped before you know. I’m good at it.”

“You told me you were shot and shoved through an interdimensional portal.”

“Tomato, tomatoh.”

He placed a kiss on her forehead and gently argued, “Let Sam and Kate pose as you and Rhodey. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, we still have the other way in.”

“The way in where you get kidnapped,” she grumbled.

“With Miles and his invisibility power as back up. He can alert the team as soon as we’re in the base. Zola won’t even have time to do anything to me.”

“We live in a world where Miles Morales is the grown-up in the room…” Darcy teased, parroting an earlier sentiment back at him.

“Hey! I’m a hundred years old. Very much a grown-up.”

“And you remember…what thirty of those years?” She asked, snuggling closer.

“Less. Most of em don’t matter. Just the ones with you in them.”

With a kiss, she promised, “We’ll make new memories.”

“Yeah. We will. I love you, Darcy.”

“What?” She looked up at him with wide eyes. “You do?”

“I…do… why is this a question?”

“You just… haven’t said it since…”

He gave a curt nod and then took her face in his hands. “I’m saying it now. I love you.”

“I love you too, Babe.”

Rhodey

“I am a genius,” Shuri declared, holding up the box puzzle for Rhodey to see.

They had already been in the air too long the Princess and her jitteriness was driving him crazy.

Rhodey chuckled in response. “You took the puzzle apart. You didn’t solve it.”

“It’s solved,” Shuri held the puzzle up for inspection again.

“That’s not… “ Rhodes let out a sigh, “the point.”

“It was more efficient,” she shrugged.

“It was supposed to occupy your time.”

Shuri looked at the puzzle again, set it down, and declared, “I’m bored.”

“Princess, please don’t…”

“Are we there yet?” She asked with a cheeky smile. “I should have made this a faster plane. You think the little raccoon will let me poke around in the Benatar?”

“Not if you take it apart.” Rhodey laughed under his breath. “I wouldn’t call him the little raccoon to his face, either.”

“He is very sensitive, isn’t he? He is a raccoon after all.”

“Is he? I thought he was an alien.”

“Aliens!” With that Shuri hopped up and went to the bank of computers.

“What?” Rhodey asked.

“I have a project!”

“Thank god.”

Bucky

“Jane, I swear, I’m not mad at you….” Darcy promised, pacing around the room while she talked on her phone. Bucky didn’t even pretend not to eavesdrop. “I’m NOT avoiding you. This came up super sudden is all…. Yes, I realize that you just got back… I swear, I miss you too….”

Bucky smiled faintly. Darcy’s friendship with Jane Foster was the stuff of legends. Too bad he couldn’t remember their antics. He’d been told they’d been ‘epic’. At least that’s the way Kate put it.

He was interrupted from his eavesdropping by an alert from Friday, routed through his Kimoyo beads. “Agent Barnes you have an incoming message from the Benatar.”

The translucent image of Rocket growled at him. “Just how stupid do you think I am, Barnes?”

“Umm…”

The Guardian narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice, “Who is it? Who do you think is compromised?”

“What are you…?”

“I told you… I’m not STUPID. Also, I’m a little paranoid. And I think that Morse might be a Skrull.”

Bucky blinked a few times and then admitted, “I wouldn’t know…I’m a little hazy on the Skrull thing.”

“Eh, they’re just like everyone. Some are good. Some are bad. Some of the bad ones are planning some kind of secret invasion of earth. “

“And you think Bobbi is?”

“She never gives anyone a straight answer.”

Trying not to chuckle, Bucky explained, “She’s a spy.”

“And you? Who are you thinking is Hydra?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Mmm hmm,” Rocket sat back and crossed his arms, “Sure. Just be careful with my Darcy, okay?”

“She’s not…”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Listen, we’re kindred spirits, me and you. We were ripped apart and put back together. Treated like monsters. But we got out, right? So be careful, man. Watch your back.” And then, presumably, so he wouldn’t look like he actually cared about Bucky, Rocket added, “For Darcy.”

“I will.”

“All right then. You need anything, Barnes?”

“Yeah… “ Bucky scratched his neck, debating whether to say anything, before deciding, “keep an eye on Parker.”

“Like keep an eye on him because he’s in danger? Or because he’s not?”

“Just…keep him safe.”

“And the Wakandan jet that’s headed toward us right now? Ignore it?”

Of course, Rocket had noticed Shuri’s approach. But for some reason, he trusted that Rocket hadn’t informed the others. “Please.”

“If someone could get a message to the Princess that a scan for other species would be helpful… “

“She’s probably already thought about that. But I’ll remind her if I can.”

“Good. Over and out, Barnes.” With that, Rocket’s image disappeared. And Darcy’s phone flew through the air and landed on a couch cushion.

“Well, Jane is pissed. And I can’t say I blame her.” She followed her phone over to the couch and flopped down on it. “How’s my snuggle bug?”

“I’m… fine,” Bucky responded. She’d never used that particular endearment before.

“I meant Rocket.”

Bucky laughed, “Of course you did.” He didn’t get a chance to tease her about it though.

There was a knock on the door and it cracked open a bit. “Buckster? It’s Kate.”

“Come in, Katie,” Darcy answered.

“Sam and I are taking off. Thought you’d want to…?”

Bucky bit his bottom lip to stop himself from telling her not to go. He still thought of Hydra as his problem, and even though he had assured Darcy that sending Kate and Sam in was a good idea, he still didn’t like it. “M’not saying goodbye to you Katie-Kate. But I’ll be down there to see you off.”

Before he could pull his friend into a hug, Friday interrupted again. “Agent Barnes?”

“We’ve received a message from Agent Mackenzie.” Bucky swore that Friday was speaking almost hesitantly, when she said, “Assemble.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title, Rocket Man by Elton John


	32. Liberated From the Fold

Darcy

Gabe Reyes looked like he was born to run a command center. He was monitoring Sam, Kate, T’Challa, and Nakia on one screen, Shuri and Rhodey on another, and Daisy, Bucky, Miles, Tandy, and Gwen on the third. Maps, and vital signs and flight patterns and a myriad of other intelligence flowed through the screens. Darcy wondered how he kept track of it all.

Gabe tapped the flat screen and called out, “Agent Wilson? Situation report?”

“Nothing to report, Gabe,” Sam’s voice came through, “Just sitting here, waiting for nothing.”

“The quinjet is about to land at the HYDRA base Agent Mackenzie sent them to.”

“Acknowledged. Keep us in the loop, kid.”

“Affirmative.”

Next to Darcy, Robbie told his brother, “You’re taking to this…”

“Suits you,” Darcy agreed.

Gabe allowed himself a smile but never turned away from monitoring his screens.

Robbie leaned in to ask, “You doing okay, Darcy?”

“Yeah. I mean… it’s not like it’s Bucky’s first mission. Or even his first against Hydra. I’m totally fine.”

“Sure. Of course,” he nodded sagely.

“You okay?” She asked in return.

“Not like it’s Kate's first mission…”

“Any second thoughts?”

Robbie let out a sigh. “About not going on the mission with Barnes? No. No second thoughts. I can’t take any chances that the Ghost Rider might get out.”

“Darcy?” Gabe nodded towards the screens, calling Darcy and Robbie back, “They’re disembarking.”

Long minutes passed with nothing but chatter about search patterns.

Tandy’s voice shook when it came across the communicator.

“He’s coming,” Tandy said. “I can feel him.”

Darcy could almost picture Bucky resting his hand on her shoulder as he reassured, “Relax, Tandy. We’re letting this happen, remember?”

“Should I move away from you?”

That was the last thing that was said before they started yelling. She could hear Bucky calling out, “Daisy!”

Tandy cried “Ty?”

And Gwen shouted “Miles!”

Gabe demanded, “Agent Barnes? Report!”

There were long seconds of silence and then Bucky said, “Ty took Daisy.”

“And Miles,” Gwen added. She was, after all the only one who could see him.

“What?” Darcy yelled.

Her voice must have gone through Gabe’s communicator because Gwen explained, “He was told to grab Ty. So he grabbed Ty.”

“So now what?” Tandy asked.

Bucky was firm in the command, “We get in the jet and wait for coordinates from Miles.”

“My spider-sense is tingling like crazy. We need to get out of here.”

Miles

Computers give off a distinct hum. It doesn’t matter if they’re Stark tech, civilian computers, or Hydra.

It didn’t take much for Miles to pick out the hum and head through the Hydra base in that direction. He tried to put the image of Daisy being grabbed by Hydra goons out of his head. He had a mission. He was going to find a way to send a message to the others and get reinforcements here. Then they were going to unleash the virus on Zola. He just had to stick to the plan.

The kid sitting in front of a bank of out-of-date computers wasn’t part of the plan.

“I know you’re there,” he said to Miles. “I can see the refraction.”

Miles didn’t move. His breathing sounded absurdly loud.

The kid continued, “My name’s Alex. I’m not working for them. I mean… I am. But I don’t want to be.”

Miles still said nothing.

“Okay… you don’t trust me. Understandable. They experimented on me. Gave me some ‘super-soldier serum’. It didn’t make me strong like it did Molly. But it made me smart. Smarter. I was already smart. Did you see Molly? They separated us. She ok? Nico? Karolina?” Alex through up his hands in frustration. “Come on, man. Seriously.”

“Fine,” Alex pouted. After a few mouse clicks on the computer he started talking again, “Mrs. Barnes isn’t in danger, by the way. I disabled the GPS in the microtech she and Agent Rhodes were injected with. I took a big risk, doing that. But Zola wanted to experiment on the baby as soon as it was born. I’d say he was a sick man, but he’s not really a man.”

Miles broke the silence but stayed invisible. “We have a plan for him.”

“Good. His program isn’t here though. He’s at another base. Torturing my friends. And there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Miles noticed that Alex’s left hand curled into a fist as he said that, even while his face remained matter-of-fact.

“What’s his plan?” Miles asked.

“Zola? He doesn’t have a plan. He’s demented. It’s Vermis you need to worry about. Otto Vermis. He wants to take over governments. He’s terrifying. “ Alex added with a mumble, “Worse than my parents.”

“But you’re working for him.”

“I don’t have a choice. “

It was probably an act of trust, that Alex did next. He pulled up an image on an old monitor and turned up the volume. On the screen Miles could see Kate’s father talking to another man.

“Where’s Barnes?” Mr. Bishop asked.

“Zola’s precious Asset? I could care less.”

“I don’t understand. What about the Super Soldier program? The experiments?”

“Derrick, you fool. Zola was a means to an end. I deliver him his toy, he delivers me Hydra. Osborn too. He gave me implantable mind control. Now he can play with his dragons.”

“Dinosaurs,” Mr. Bishop corrected. “I’m pretty sure they’re dinosaurs.” Then the two men moved and Miles could see that Daisy was restrained in the chair behind them. “Then why take her?”

Daisy pulled hard on the restraints. Her hands were completely encased in some kind of covering. And if her hands weren’t free, she was powerless. She looked really pissed off. Someone was going to pay. Miles couldn’t wait.

“You see her and think ‘Quake’ don’t you?” The other man asked, “ I see her and think…Rising Tide. Do you know how skilled she is with a computer? She can infiltrate any network I desire. Including the Avengers AI. Can’t you, Miss Johnson?”

“Agent,” Daisy said firmly.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s _Agent _Johnson.”

“What title do you think I should use? How about Supreme Leader? Yes. I like that.”

Alex reached up and turned the volume back down.

“I told you,” Alex said. “He’s terrifying.”

“You’re pretending to be brainwashed?”

Alex nodded, “it’s the only way I can get access. Put a few bugs in the system… You really didn’t see my friends?”

“No.”

“Zola was supposed to send them in as soon as Vermis had Agent Johnson. He wanted them to bring his Asset to him. “

“Maybe he didn’t…” Miles argued.

“As bad as he wanted Barnes? Doubtful. Here…” Alex started clicking away with his mouse again. “I’m going to try and get you a visual of the other compound without getting detected….” He glanced over at the screen again, where Daisy was strapped down. Alex said under his breath, “At least she’s not in the chair. God I hate that fucking chair.”

“You and me both.” Miles took a deep breath and a step forward, allowing his invisibility to drop away. “I’m Miles.”

Alex gave him a small smile. “Will you help me rescue my friends?”

“Yeah. I just need to get a message to Wakanda.”

Darcy

“Gabe…? What is happening?” Darcy yelled. Her eyes flicked from one screen to the other.

“Lots of yelling…” Gabe grumbled.

“I can hear that!” Darcy snapped impatiently.

“Agent Barnes, report!” Gabe called out, for the second time, raising his voice so that they could hear him over a cacophony of screaming, explosions, and something that sounded like roaring.

“Multiple hostiles. Jesus, they’re just kids…” Bucky responded. “We’ve got four female subjects. Two are magic. One seems to have super strength. And I think the fourth is controlling the dinosaurs.”

“Agent Barnes, repeat, did you say dinosaurs?”

“He said dinosaurs!” Tandy snapped.

“Gwen, on your six!” Bucky called out. “We’ve got to bug out. We can’t defend ourselves without hurting the kids.”

“They don’t seem to have a similar compunction!” Gwen yelled.

Tandy called out, “Bucky? That magic staff is powering up again.”

There was an explosion and then… nothing.

“Gabe?” Darcy asked frantically, “Where are they? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know…. I lost communication.”

She looked over at the screen that was supposed to display their vital signs. They were all flatlined. “That doesn’t mean….?”

“Darcy, I lost communication, that’s all. That’s why their vitals flatlined.”

Gabe muttered to himself, narrating his actions, “Routing heat detection from the jet…. God, it’s fried too. Okay….”

Ten minutes went by, then twenty. Then finally, “Three humans. And… something? I’m dispatching Sam’s team to their location. Nothings happening at that rendezvous anyway.”

He tapped a few things on a monitor that Darcy didn’t understand and asked, “Agent Barnes, report? Tandy? Ghost Spider? Report?”

He tried for another twenty minutes until a garbled voice made it through, “…here…”

“Tandy?”

“…took Bucky…”

Darcy’s heart dropped into her stomach.

Gwen

Whoever was shaking her shoulder deserved to die.

Her head hurt. Her whole body hurt. And she did not want to open her eyes.

“Gwennie, you have to wake up.”

Gwen’s brain started putting a name to the annoying voice.

Tandy.

“Seriously, please don’t leave me alone with the raptor whisperer.”

“She’s a deinonychus,” a strange voice corrected.

“Like I give a SHIT.”

“Language,” Gwen muttered.

“Oh thank god.”

Against all her instincts, Gwen opened her eyes. Damn. It was bright. “What happened?”

“It all went to shit. I know, ‘language’. But there’s no other way to describe what happened.”

Gwen’s eyes settled on the new girl with big glasses and purple hair. “Who are…?”

Then she glanced behind the girl and screeched, scrambling backward.

“Relax,” Tandy grabbed Gwen’s foot, “this one is friendly. Not so much the others.”

“What happened?” Gwen asked, eyeing the creature behind the new girl.

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Um… Agent Barnes saying we should head back to the jet. And… a ball of light… No a human-shaped ball of light… A human made of light.”

“Her name’s Karolina,” The new girl answered.

“I told you, I don’t give a shit, Hydra,” Tandy snapped.

“I’m not Hydra… anymore.”

“Her pals, the light chick, the witch, the scary strong girl, and the army of velociraptors…” Tandy pointed a finger at the new girl, “ I swear if you correct me I will end you… descended on us. I managed to zap Lavender here. Busted their programming. She was nice enough to mind control the rest of the _deinonychus_, into a back room.” Tandy exaggerated the correct name of the dinosaur with an eye roll.

“Where’s Bucky?”

“Witchy girl had a staff that made some kind of portal. She took Bucky and her buddies back to Hydra. The force knocked you into a wall. You’ve been unconscious for about 10 minutes. And I’ve been stuck here with dinosaur girl and her favorite lizard.”

Gwen asked the girl, “Do you remember anything about where you were kept?”

“I remember everything. But I never knew where we were. Listen my sister is there. My friends. Please…”

“We’ll do what we can. I’m Gwen.”

“Gert. And this is Old Lace.” 

Bucky

The trigger words were coming out of someone’s mouth before he’d even rematerialized. The girl dropped him to the floor. She was strong. Stronger than him. Stronger than Steve. Strong like she’d started strong and they made her stronger. And she was younger than the other two. No more than fourteen.

The last trigger word fell from the Hydra agent’s mouth and then he asked, “Soldat?” expectantly.

“I’m gonna burn this place to the ground,” Bucky growled, straightening.

The dark witch tapped her staff on the ground and commanded, “Bind.”

Chains of fire wrapped around his body.

The girl who had been made of light asked gently, “Will those burn him?” She was pretty. The same age as Tandy, with cascades of blonde hair and kind eyes.

“Who cares?” The dark witch asked. Goth, was how Darcy would have described the petite girl.

“Karolina my dear,” a computerized voice pierced the air. “I believe you need some rest. Nico, please take her to her quarters.”

Bucky tried to fight the feeling of dread that almost paralyzed him. That voice. It haunted his nightmares. He barely registered the two girls leaving while the third stood by, waiting for instruction.

“Sergeant Barnes!” The voice said gleefully. “I see the rumors are true. You have broken programming. A situation we will remedy. Molly, child, please escort Sergeant Barnes to his seat.”

The chair.

Zola probably expected Bucky to cry and beg. Or fight even though it was futile. Bucky refused to give him the satisfaction. As the girl slammed him down into the chair and the restraints came down, Bucky stared at the computerized image and smiled.

“Is something amusing, Sergeant Barnes?”

“My wife is going to end you.”

“You won’t recognize her when I’m done with you."

“It took you twenty years to break me last time. If you think you can break me in a day when I know my family is looking for me...”

Bucky wasn’t able to finish the sentence, instead, he was screaming as the pain seared through his brain.

Darcy

“Darcy?” Robbie called out after her, before chasing down the hallway. “What are you doing?”

“I’m getting my husband back!”

The door to their suite slammed against the hallway as she burst through it. She picked up Gretel who gave an unceremonious squeal of protest and commanded, “Take me to your daddy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Won't Get Fooled Again by the Who


	33. There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here

Robbie

“What’s wrong with her? Why won’t she help me?”

Darcy sat in the middle of the living room floor, clutching onto Gretel and rocking back and forth.

The cat would occasionally let out a wail that sounded like she was saying, “Woe!” which would set Darcy off into a fresh round of sobs.

Robbie looked around the empty room, wishing that he knew how to handle this. “Darcy, they’ve had Bucky an hour… it’s probably….”

“Don’t!” She held up her finger as if to scold him. “Don’t you dare say it’s too late. They haven’t erased him. He’s stronger than that. He is.”

Robbie knelt down and put his hand on her shoulder. “He’s the strongest man I know. We’ll get him back.”

“Can you? Can you take me to him? Can the Ghost Rider take me?” She sniffled.

“I can get you to the way station where I met Ty. But….”

“Okay.” She started rocking again, “We’ll figure something out. We’ll figure something out.”

Before she repeated it a third time, he promised, “We will.”

The Asset

He hit the concrete floor with a thud, crumpling like a rag doll. “Zola will continue your treatment soon, Soldat,” one of the two men who had dragged him in told him.

Something dripped out of his ear onto the floor. Blood. There was pain. And something else. Despair.

But under that, there was something…

“Alex?” A voice called out from the other side of the wall.

Was he Alex? That didn’t seem right.

“Hello?” He called back.

“Hey,” the enthusiastic voice answered. “Hey, my name is Chase.”

“I’m…” the name was there, on the tip of his tongue.

The voice seemed to understand why he paused. “They put you in the chair? Yeah. I think they’ll get around to me eventually. But they keep finding more interesting subjects.”

“Like… Alex?”

“Yeah, like Alex.” The voice then asked with obvious hope, “Can you remember your name?”

“The Asset.”

“No. That’s not your name.”

He sat in the middle of the concrete cell, on the floor. He could feel his brow furrowing as he concentrated. What was his name?

“Hey! Hey, buddy are you still with me?”

“I don’t know.”

“Listen, we need to get some of you back before they try another wipe. One step forward, two steps back.” Then the voice sighed, “I don’t know if that was the right analogy. Or even if that was an analogy. Sorry. Alex would try to bring himself back, and he’s smart so… “

He started scowling again. Chase was trying. But his rambling wasn’t helpful.

“We know you’re a man. And you sound older. So not a kid like me. What are you wearing?”

“Black.”

“Okay. That’s a start!”

The Asset scowled. That was a very small amount of information to start with.

Miles

“You sure there’s nothing we can do for Daisy?” Miles asked.

“Vermis prefers the nanotech to Zola’s more… shitty methods,” Alex assured him. “At least they aren’t torturing her.”

“She might disagree.”

“Okay,” Alex said, concentrating on his task, “Ready for you to input your beacon to the Avengers into the program.”

“Then what?”

“Then you hide, and I pretend like I know nothing.”

“What if they don’t believe you?” Miles asked with concern.

Alex gave a nonchalant shrug and said, “Then I hope the Avengers have a fast plane.”

“Who are you?” A voice came out of the shadows.

Alex visibly tensed and muttered, “The Cloak.”

Miles went invisible.

“Who are you talking to?” Alex asked Ty casually. “There’s no one here but me.”

Ty looked confused and continued to stare at the spot where Miles had been standing. Then he scowled and asked Alex. “What is this?”

From his pocket, Ty produced a child’s ballet slipper.

The Asset

“I feel like there is somewhere I need to be,” The Asset told the young man in the next cell.

“Yeah. Well… anywhere but here, right?”

“I feel like… I have a mission.”

“Okay…well… we’re kind of stuck on _who_ you are. So let’s try and figure out your mission. You said it's somewhere you need to be?”

The Asset closed his eyes. There was something tugging at his soul. Something… “Blue.”

“You need to go somewhere blue? Like the ocean?”

“No… she’s blue. Her eyes are blue.”

“Okay! Now we’re talking!” Chase exclaimed with enthusiasm.

The Asset scowled at the air. “I don’t understand.”

“Your name. Your mission….Hydra can try and wipe that. But true love? That’s not going anywhere. That sticks in your head. That’s what you need to focus on.”

The Asset sat down and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he let out a growl of frustration. “I can’t. I can’t see her face. I just know she’s my mission. I’m supposed to protect her. And… she’s supposed to protect me.”

“Maybe you’re trying too hard.”

“You told me to focus!”

“What are you listening to me for? I’m sixteen!”

“There’s a teenager in the next room,” the Asset muttered. And then he saw her. Brushing her teeth. Lounging in the sand. Sitting next to him at the piano. “Darcy.”

“Did you say, Darcy?” Chase asked, breaking his reverie. “Darcy Lewis Barnes? The spokesperson for the Avengers?”

“She’s my wife,” the words slipped out of his lips without a thought.

“You’re Bucky Barnes,” Chase said with not a small amount of awe.

The joy bloomed in his chest. He was Bucky Barnes. He had a wife who loved him.

The joy was short-lived, as six Hydra agents with cattle prods entered his cell. Overhead, the voice of Zola announced, “Sergeant Barnes, it seems you need another treatment.”  
  


Robbie

Robbie sat on the end of the couch, watching the surreal interaction.

“What do you mean, you’re on your way to Knowhere?” Darcy yelled at the holographic image.

The raccoon threw his hands up in the air, “Listen, I wanted to stay. I didn’t even get a belly rub from you! But I was outvoted!”

“I need your help, Rocket,” she begged.

“Oh now, don’t do that. Stop it with the big eyes and the tears. Your team is gonna get your man back, Darce. Now that we know who is and isn’t a spy.”

“Who was compromised?” Robbie asked.

“The nerds. Um… Fitzgibbon.”

“Fitz and Simmons?”

“Shuri’s debugging them now. You should have seen Rogers. Such righteous indignation about his team not being Hydra. And then boom, Shuri was like, ‘not only do we have Hydra, we have Skrulls’!” Rocket slapped his knee and roared with laughter.

Robbie shook his head and asked, “Are Fitz and Simmons going to be okay?”

“Shuri’s removing the nanotech as we speak. You’ve got a squadron of do-gooder Avengers on their way to you. Now ask me about Quill.”

Darcy obliged, “What’s wrong with Quill?”

“He’s a Skrull!” Rocket clutched his belly and rocked with hysterical laughter. “Can you believe it? We left the real Quill on Achernon.”

Robbie saw the emotion cross her face. Right then, Darcy immediately forgave the Guardians for leaving. Gamora probably wanted Peter back as much as she wanted Bucky.

“The real Hill, too!” Rocket continued. “Some idiot is impersonating Carol’s girlfriend. I tell you, she is pisssssed.”

“Jesus,” Darcy pinched the bridge of her nose, just like Bucky. She let out a shaky sigh.

The raccoon softened, “Hey, Darce. You gonna be okay?”

“No,” she admitted. “I thought Gretel could take me to him, but she can’t….”

“Are you asking her right?”

“I’m being very specific.”

“You’re using words?” Rocket slapped his forehead. “You really don’t know how to use a flerken, do you? Don’t confuse her with _words_.”

They were interrupted by another hologram who said, “I am Groot.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming. Listen, I gotta go, Gamora has no business piloting my ship in hyperdrive.”

Then he was gone.

“You heard him, right?” Robbie asked. “They’re on their way here, now. The whole team.”

“Yeah,” Darcy agreed shakily. She reached out to pet Gretel.

Suddenly the cat began meowing incessantly. She butted her head against Darcy’s hand over and over. “Gretel?” Darcy asked. Then Darcy’s eyes lit up. “Robbie take my hand. She’s found him.”

Sam

“Sam,” T’Challa called out.

Sam looked around and saw everyone’s eyes on him. T’Challa must have been calling him for a while now.

“Sorry,” Sam muttered.

“Did you hear me? Half of the Avengers are en route to us. The others are going to Wakanda to start the search for Barnes. We are in a holding pattern.”

“Yeah. One hour. I heard you. We’re leaving Daisy with Hydra for another hour.”

Kate soothed, “I’m sure Miles will send another message if we need immediate extraction.”

“Unless they capture and torture him too. Let’s face it. We fucked up.”

“We did no such thing,” Nakia scolded. “We are about to descend into a Hydra base and we will succeed in capturing the Hydra operatives there. Miles did exactly as he was instructed. And he did well.”

“And my friend is somewhere else entirely, enduring god knows what while my girl….”

“Your woman is a warrior,” T’Challa said firmly. “And she would not be pleased to hear you speak of her like a damsel in distress.”

Kate’s cell phone went off, sounding unbelievably loud in the quiet of the jet.

“Dad?” She answered, “Are you crazy? You shouldn’t be calling me…. Yes, I know… Dad, you shouldn’t be contacting me. It’s too dangerous…. Dad?” Kate’s voice became more frantic. “Dad??”

The gunshot was so loud that they all could hear it over the phone.

“Dad!” Kate screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hendrix. Enough said


	34. Our Hearts A'Thumpin'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I'm a nurse in a pandemic.
> 
> Jane has a bit of a foul mouth. Just a warning.

Alex

“What is this?” The Cloak asked, holding a child’s ballet slipper in his hand.

Alex glanced back and forth between The Cloak and Spiderman, wondering if he should run. Because The Cloak looked… emotional. And that was pretty much a first. And the Spiderman may be about his age, but he was pretty sure that he could handle himself a little better in a fight than Alex could.

“I put it in your pocket,” Miles said as he slowly approached The Cloak. “Do you remember it? Do you remember Tandy?”

The Cloak scowled at Miles and then at the slipper in his hand. He took two steps back and disappeared into a cloud.

“What the hell was that?” Alex asked, “Do you know him?”

“Not really. I know his…Tandy.”

Alex stepped closer to Miles and demanded, “His name? You know his name?”

“Yeah. It’s Ty. Why are you…?”

“Because a name is everything. If you remember your name then you start to remember people saying it. People you love. That’s how you break the programming. We can break his programming!”

Alex realized he was ranting when he looked up and saw Miles blinking at him in confusion. “But…just before Ty took Daisy, I heard your friends call each other by name.”

“Yeah, well,” Alex shrugged. “Turns out we only have each other. We don’t have any reason to fight the programming. As long as we’re in this together we just…” Alex shrugged again. “They tried to make us forget at first, but the girls worked so well as a team that they just kept them together.”

Miles looked at Alex with undisguised empathy. “How many of you are there?”

“There are six of us. We were on the run from our parents, they’re… evil. We all grew up together along with Niko’s sister. Molly and Gert are adoptive sisters. Then there is Chase, Karolina and me. We’re family. And now...”

“The Avengers are on their way. They’ll save you all.”

Miles had a confidence about him that Alex almost believed. “Except I don’t know if any of my friends are actually here. They may be with Zola for all I know. Last time I saw Chase, Zola and Osborn were arguing over what to do with him. God knows what has happened to my friend.”

Robbie

“Okay, this is bad,” Darcy muttered.

Robbie looked at his friend, clutching her cat to her chest. They were in a supply closet in a HYDRA base, surrounded by guards. Thankfully, they were still undetected. He fought the urge to say something sarcastic back at her. Traveling via alien cat to a HYDRA base where they had no backup to rescue a man who very well may have been turned into HYDRA’s most dangerous asset had been a bad idea. But, Robbie had to admit, he probably would have done something similar for Gabe, or Kate, or Daisy. So he just shrugged and offered, “We’ll be okay.”

Darcy sighed in return, “We really need back up.”

And with that, Gretel jumped out of Darcy’s arms, looked up at her with a “purrrup!” and blinked away.

Sam

“We’re going in,” Sam announced over the communicator. He glanced up at T’Challa and Nakia who nodded in affirmative and then at Kate, who stood motionless still holding the phone.

Gabe Reyes’s voice came in clearly. “Was that a gunshot?”

“Yeah. We aren’t waiting for the other Avengers. We need to go in now.”

“Affirmative.”

Sam looked over at Kate, who was pale as a sheet and still was staring at the phone in her hand. “Katie, can you make it?”

“He killed my dad,” she said.

Sam took the phone out of her hand, “We don’t know that for sure, Katie Kate. Do you want to stay on the jet?”

She growled in response, “No.”

Robbie

Darcy slid along the wall of the hallway, avoiding the cameras.

Gabe whispered, “This is a bad idea, we should have stayed hidden.”

“We’re still hidden. Be quiet.”

“We’re in the open.”

She pressed her ear against a door, listening for activity. She eased open the door and pulled Robbie in after her. “What is your problem? You want to stay hidden until we’re rescued?”

“Yes,” he replied simply.

Darcy’s eyes were sparkling with fury. “I have to find Bucky.”

“And I have to maintain control over the Ghost Rider. Do you have any idea how many people deserve to be punished in this building? I could lose it so easily…” Something twitched in Robbie’s brain. “Darcy, I think the Rider can feel him.”

Her face exploded with hope, “Really? How?”

“Someone’s soul is begging for vengeance… I can feel it.”

“Where?”

“Very close.”

“Are you willing to risk it?” She asked, hopefully.

Robbie took a deep breath and jumped into the deep end, “Yeah. Let’s go.”

Ty

Ty felt Derek Bishop fall to the ground, panting with fear.

“You’re okay,” Ty assured him.

“Where? How?” Bishop muttered.

“You’re in the Dark Dimension,” Ty answered.

“I’m in hell? I’m dead?”

“Neither. The bullet didn’t hit you. See for yourself.” Ty could almost see the wheels turning in the man’s head, replaying the phone call, Vermis’s gun, the trigger being pulled, and then Ty pulling him into a cloud of black.

Bishop did a cursory look at his chest, “You saved me,” he realized. “Why?”

Ty took a ballet slipper out of his pocket. “Tandy. I started to remember. And then I remembered that we were heroes. Or at least we were trying to be. Heroes don’t stand by and let people be executed.”

Jane

The courtyard was a madhouse. Avengers were running from here to there, loading and unloading equipment from the jets.

Meanwhile, Steve kept barking commands and questions. “Has anyone seen Darcy?”

A member of the Dora Milaje spoke up, “She is not in her rooms, sir.”

“Someone go down to Bucky’s old hut. She may be visiting the goats.”

Jane Foster stared down at Gretel, who was frantically weaving around her feet in the courtyard below the palace in Wakanda. Suddenly, with Darcy missing, her presence was ominous.

“Steve? I have a situation…” But Steve Rogers just kept racing from here to there.

“Do you mean to tell me that Sam is going in without back up?” Steve yelled. Without waiting for an answer, he barked out, “Tony? Rhodes?”

Tony activated the Iron Man armor. “Speed not stealth, right Cap?”

With that, Iron Man and War Machine took to the sky.

Meanwhile, Thor wiggled his fingers at Gretel, who continued to rub against Jane’s legs. “Perhaps you should pick her up,” Thor said gently.

“You know what she is!” Jane hissed. “She’ll….abscond with me. Steve?” she asked as the Captain raced by. He wasn’t paying attention.

“Do we have the tech we need to deprogram Mack loaded on the jet?” He asked Natasha as she hurried by with some random tech in her arms. “Make sure we have enough for YoYo, Scott, and Hope, whatever we need.” Then to no one in particular he called out, “Do we _have_ any status updates on Ant-Man & Wasp?”

Peter Parker, who had been working with Shuri the entire flight from the Compound to Wakanda offered, “We still don’t know if they’re at the facility with Miles and Daisy or if they’re somewhere else.”

Thor looked at Jane with pleading eyes. “I believe Gretel will most likely take you to the Lady Darcy and our friend James, who need our help.”

Jane eyeballed the flerken again, “Why don’t you pick her up?”

“Jane, dear you know I’m incapable of traveling via flerken. It makes me feel quite ill.”

“It makes everyone feel quite ill, don’t be dramatic.”

Around them, Shuri was barking orders into her Kimoyo beads. Steve was yelling over his communicator down to Gabe for status reports. They had all arrived in such a frenzy no one was paying attention to Jane and the little flerken.

Finally, Jane yelled out, “Steven Grant Rogers!”

Steve finally looked up, along with most of the others.

Thor said softly, “We believe the Lady Darcy may be in danger.”

Tandy

Tandy felt her stomach drop when the jet did. Gwen let out a little curse and leveled things out.

“Gwennie? You sure you know how to fly this thing?” Tandy teased.

Gwen’s shoulders hitched into a quick shrug, “Eh.”

Gert grumbled, “That’s not reassuring.”

Gwen let out a full-throated laugh, “Neither is your lizard breathing on my neck but you don’t hear me complaining!”

“She’s a deinonychus,” Tandy corrected with a smirk. “And I don’t mean to criticize but we don’t seem to be headed towards Wakanda.”

“Aren’t we?” Gwen replied innocently.

“We’re going after Daisy aren’t we?”

Gwen nodded, “And we’re going after my best friend and your guy and Gert’s…” Gwen drew a little encompassing circle with her hand, “everyone. That cool with you guys?”

“Hell yes. What do you think, Lacy?” Tandy rubbed the dinosaur under her chin,

“It’s Old Lace,” Gert corrected.

“She can’t have a nickname?” Tandy shot back. “What exactly is your story anyway sister?”

“Um, my parents are supervillains. All of my friends’ parents too. We were living in an underground hostel trying to figure out how to stop our parents when Hydra captured us. You know, that old familiar story.”

“Sure. Same old story” laughed Tandy.

“What about you two?”

“My best friend and I were in a nuclear accident as kids,” Tandy explained.

“My best friend and I were bitten by radioactive spiders on a field trip to Oscorp.”

“Norman Osborn experimented on Lace,” Gert said with disgust.

“I thought he made her,” Gwen asked, “Where did she come from?”

“My parents,” Gert explained. “Osborn cloned her and made the others. They’re not like her.”

“And your friends’ powers?” Tandy inquired.

“I don’t know how Molly got so strong. But Zola made her stronger. Niko and Karolina are the same as they were, just brainwashed like I was. I haven’t seen Chase and Alex in a while. Every time I ask about Chase I get put back in the chair…” she shuddered.

“I hate that fucking chair,” Gwen muttered. “Don’t worry Gert, we’re getting all of our friends back.”

“Should we check in first?” Tandy asked, fully prepared to go, rogue, if they needed to.

A familiar voice came in loudly over the intercom while a red light flashed on the dash warning them of a bogey.

“Ghost-Spider, you do not have clearance to fly a quinjet!”

Jane

“Perhaps it would be prudent for another to take on this task,” Thor protested, as Jane was loaded up with supplies.

Steve scoffed, “You try picking her up.” He nodded towards Gretel who continued to wind her way around Jane’s legs.

Steve and Natasha had both attempted to pick up Gretel, which resulted in a hissing, hopping mad flerken. Gretel seemed to have her mind set on Jane.

Natasha attached the life sign monitors to Jane’s body. “You’re all set except for a weapon. What’s your pleasure?”

“I don’t… I’m not really a weapons person.”

“I think I have just the thing,” Natasha said and she disappeared deep into a jet.

“Send us a beacon the second you arrive,” Steve repeated the instructions again. “Stay hidden. We’ll head your way the second we get the beacon.”

“Who should I expect?” Jane asked.

“What? Everyone. Everyone is coming after you. Gabe is staying here to act as our eyes and ears. The Defenders have been notified that the Avengers are indisposed. We’re all coming after you.”

Natasha emerged from the jet with a weapon of some sort. She handed it to Jane. “Just point and shoot.”

“What is it?”

Natasha smiled, “Flame thrower. Find Darcy, Bucky, and Robbie. Then burn those fuckers to the ground.”

Steve rolled his eyes, “I just told her to stay hidden.”

“And she’s a big girl and she can do what she wants.”

Jane pulled Gretel into her arms and then grinned with determination, “Fuck staying hidden, I’m getting my fucking friend back!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl


	35. Under Pressure That Burns a Building Down

Darcy

“Te mataré,” the woman in the bed mumbled.

“I think we found your person seeking vengeance,” Darcy said, glancing out the door to the cell to check the hallways for Hydra guards.

Robbie knelt at Elena’s side and said soothingly, “Estamos aquí para ayudarte.”

“How is she?” Darcy asked, looking back at YoYo.

“I think they’ve kept her sedated,” Robbie surmised.

They both froze when a voice called out, “Hello?”

Robbie and Darcy looked at each other with wide eyes. Darcy lifted her finger to her lips as if Robbie needed to be told to be quiet.

“Hello?” The voice called out again.

“I think its someone in the next cell,” Darcy said quietly. She moved towards the door again.

“You aren’t going out there?” Robbie protested.

Darcy ignored him and stealthily moved into the hallway and to the other door. Quietly, she spoke towards the crack of the door, “Hello?”

“You’re not Hydra,” the voice whispered, “They aren’t supposed to show up with her sedatives for another ten minutes. I’m Chase.”

“Chase, I’m with the Avengers. We’re here on a rescue mission.”

“I knew you’d be here soon. Agent Barnes promised you would.”

“Bucky? You saw him?”

“I haven’t seen anything but these walls in a while. But I talked to him. They’re trying to…”

Darcy interrupted, “I know what they have planned for him.”

Robbie peeked his head out the door. “Darcy, get back in here.”

“You have ten minutes,” Chase promised. “The doctor comes like clockwork to give her that sedative.”

“Like clockwork?” Darcy asked. “And the doctor has the keys?”

Chase let out a little sigh of relief. “Yes. It’s usually just the doctor. If you’re Avengers I’m sure you can overpower him.”

“Sure. We’re totally Avengers.”

Rhodey

“Whoa, that’s a velociraptor,” Rhodes exclaimed when he came in through the hatch. He stayed in the War Machine armor, because…well… velociraptor.

“Deinonychus,” a chorus of three teenage girls and one Tony Stark corrected.

“Who’s the new girl?” Rhodey asked.

Gwen offered, “Tony Stark and James Rhodes meet Gert Yorkes and Old Lace.”

“Holy shit, that’s Iron Man,” Gert blurted out.

“What am I, chopped liver?”

Tandy had no time for pleasantries, “Rhodey, have you heard from Bucky? They took him. We have coordinates for Daisy and Miles but we don’t know where Bucky is. And Zola really wants to…”

“Hey, hey, hey, breathe Bowen. Jesus,” Tony stopped the breathless girl. “We’ll find him. Okay?”

Tony gave her a pat on the shoulder as he moved by, shooed Gwen out of the pilot’s seat, and took over the flight.

Tandy’s eyes flicked from Tony’s back to the War Machine armor, and despite the dinosaur in the jet, Rhodey opened his face shield. “First you save Darcy, now you’re gonna save Bucky?”

“Well, I mean the dork trying to take Darcy was pretty easy to take out.”

Rhodes laughed at the insult. And then he assured her, “We’re taking you with us to get Miles and Daisy back. And with Daisy’s computer skills and your interrogation methods, I’m sure we’ll find Bucky. And Steve and the others are on stand by, ready to head to his location for a full-on rescue mission. We’ll get him back for you. We’ll get Ty too. I promise.”

Rhodes wasn’t quite prepared for the girl to throw herself into his armored arms, but she did. “Thank you.”

Derrick Bishop

“How did you know I wasn’t really Hydra?” Derrick Bishop asked.

Ty sat on the counter of the gas station that acted as a way station in the Dark Dimension. “I didn’t. But if Vermis wanted you dead, I figured…” Ty shrugged. “the enemy of my enemy.”

“I’m not your enemy son. I’ve done lots of things I’m not proud of, but Hydra isn’t one of them. My daughter, she probably thinks I’m dead.”

“I’ll get you out of here as soon as I figure out a way to remind myself of who I am. Once I leave the Dark Dimension, Hydra’s programming takes hold again.”

Derrick nodded at the ballet slipper in Ty’s hand. “You were breaking it.”

“Not completely though.” Ty looked around at the pictures that were now adorning the walls. “Tandy must have come through here somehow.” He pointed to a picture of her on the wall. “That’s her.”

Derrick recognized the people in the pictures. They were the Avengers. Each had the word ‘Friend’ written on them. He handed one of the pictures to Ty. “This is Kate, my daughter. She’s seeing this young man. His name is Robbie.”

Ty narrowed his eyes at the picture. “I know him. He and Agent Barnes tried to take me to Tandy.” With that, he clutched the slipper a bit tighter.

“Sounds to me like a good course of action, son. What do you say we go find her?”

“I told you, the second I’m back in the real world, I’m Hydra’s again.”

“I was on the phone with my daughter when you saved my life. The Avengers were about to infiltrate the base. If they capture you, won’t they take you to your Tandy?”

Daisy

Daisy was handcuffed to the chair.

For the hundredth time, she was grateful that it wasn’t THE chair. She’d seen the monstrosity in her nightmares. Watching the footage of the Winter Soldier had not been quite mandatory for the Avengers. But everyone in Daisy’s team had seen it. And everyone on the team hated it because they loved Bucky.

She waited for the programming to take hold. They’d injected her with the same nanotech that they’d used on Rhodes. She wondered what it would feel like, to have Hydra invade her mind and betray her friends.

The arrows came first. Flying into the room and hitting the Hydra agents in the thighs. Each one swayed as their eyes rolled up in their heads. Each one fell to the ground with an unceremonious thunk.

Daisy looked up to see Kate saluting her from the catwalk.

Kate then took aim at one of the handcuffs. The arrow landed directly in the tiny keyhole and her left hand was free.

“Katie, no. I’m compromised,” Daisy warned.

A large explosion rocked the base. Another smaller explosion knocked the door off the hinges.

Sam burst through, ICER in hand. She’d never been so glad to see anyone. Her heart welled up, first with love and then with fear.

Daisy, “Sam. They stuck that tech in me. I’m compromised.”

“Shuri’s gonna take it out, baby girl. We just need to get you on the jet.”

Sam moved for the second handcuff which manacled Daisy to the chair on the right.

Daisy shook her head, “No. Not until I have that tech out of me.”

Daisy looked up at the catwalk again, but Kate was gone.

“Sam…please. If I hurt you…”

Despite the explosions and the shouting and the gunfire all around them, she could hear Sam whisper to her as he kissed her forehead, “All right, boss lady. I’ll get Shuri down here.”

Jane

Jane didn’t look around for hostiles when she landed. She just looked for a trash can. She dropped Gretel unceremoniously and was grateful that cats landed on their feet.

Once she’d heaved up pretty much everything she had eaten in the last day she stopped and looked around.

She was in an office with concrete walls. From the dampness of the air, she guessed that they were underground. A spartan but functional desk sat in the middle of the room. Papers were strewn about. Whoever was the occupant was somehow even messier than she was.

Gretel was batting at one of two glass cylinders that sat on the desk. She knocked one over and Jane held her breath. The glass was too thick to shatter, thank goodness. Jane picked up the cylinder as it rolled towards her.

“Hope?” Inside the cylinder was her friend, miniaturized and literally buzzing with anger. Jane made quick work of the mechanism that kept the Wasp trapped and turned the tube so that she could gently dump her onto the desk.

“Don’t eat her,” Jane scolded the flerken as she repeated the action on the other tube that was holding Scott Lang.

Both Avengers grew to their normal sizes within a minute of being released, but they were pale, and sweaty and exhausted from their forced prolonged miniaturization.

“Thanks,” Scott panted.

“It’s just you?” Hope asked.

“What can I say, the flerken wants what the flerken wants,” Jane muttered, moving her way over to the ancient computer that had remarkably modern software. She was tempted to turn it on, see what she could find out. She was equally tempted to activate her beacon. After all, that is what Steve told her to do. But Jane really wanted to have Darcy and Bucky in her sights before she activated it. “I know you guys need to rest, but we need to move. We need to find the others.”

Miles

Miles waved enthusiastically at Nakia as she came through the door of the server room.

“There you are,” She greeted. “Well done.”

She stopped and regarded Alex, knowing immediately that he was no threat. She tapped her communicator and opened a line. “Gabe? Can you put me through to Stark?... Yes, we have Agent Mackenzie, Shuri is working on him now. I am with Miles, he is unharmed and has made a friend.”

With this, she handed Miles an earpiece.

Stark's voice came in clearly through Miles’s communicator, “Any sign of Ty Johnson? I’ve got a young lady here who is pretty anxious.”

“No sir,” Miles answered, “But we’ve got a resident computer expert who read an energy signature that implies that Ty and Derrick Bishop are in the Dark Dimension.”

“Daisy is playing with the computers, huh?” Tony laughed.

Miles felt the rumbling vibrations below his feet. And Nakia answered, “Daisy is…occupied.”

Sam’s voice came across next, “Stark? The place is cleared out, and Daisy is pretty hell-bent on taking down the place. We’re headed out.”

“Don’t mess with the West Coast Avengers!” Miles whooped.

“You know that’s not actually a thing, right kid?” Tony laughed again.

“Um, ma’am?” Alex addressed Nakia quietly, “I think I’ve located the other base.”

She sat down next to him, “Show me.”

“This is the energy signal that the Cloak emits when he crosses through the Dark Dimension. It just appeared,” he pointed to coordinates on the monitor, “here.”

The floor shook and the walls started to crumble. Miles shot a web against one particularly ominous-looking crack, keeping it together. “I think Daisy might be just a little bit pissed off,” Miles muttered.

“I agree,” Nakia put her hand on Alex’s shoulder, “We should finish this on the jet. Come.”

Darcy

Darcy glanced over at Robbie, whose eyes kept flaring orange. “You okay, bud?”

“Fine,” he growled in an otherworldly tone.

“What exactly is happening to him?” their newest companion, the teenager named Chase, asked.

Elena supplied the answer, “He has a vengeance demon inside of him. You and I are making it difficult for him to maintain control”

“But … I’m not trying to be vengeful,” Chase protested.

Elena let out a little huff of a laugh, “We can’t help it.”

“I’m fine,” Robbie repeated. “This way.”

“You’re sure we’re headed towards Bucky?” Darcy asked, her mission was straightforward, she wanted to find her husband.

“I can’t feel… you don’t understand. But someone innocent is seeking vengeance. They’re this way.”

“Could it be my friends?” Chase asked. “Gert? Molly?”

“Or Mack? Hope?” Elena asked.

“I told you, I don’t know who I am feeling,” Robbie growled, starting to lose control.

“We’re stopping,” Darcy insisted. She quickly checked a room for occupants and led them all in there. “Good thing Hydra bases have a lot of empty rooms.”

“Why are we stopping?” Elena asked. “We have to find Mack and Bucky.”

“We’re stopping because Robbie is having a little trouble controlling the Ghost Rider. We don’t want him to go all flamey.”

“Don’t we?” Elena asked. “My powers are back. We have a demonic warrior. Let’s just unleash hell on the bastards.”

“Because they have someone who can disappear between dimensions and a witch who can do the same. We are close to finding Bucky and I don’t want them taking him somewhere else. We wait for the Avengers to get here.”

“And we’re relying on your flerken to bring them all here? No offense, Darcy, but she once took Natasha on an interdimensional tour of naked Steves.”

Darcy sighed, “This is different. Bucky is in trouble. She’s going to bring everyone here to take Hydra down. I know it.”

“Is that what you asked her to do?”

“I didn’t ask her to do anything. I just thought about burning Hydra to the ground.”

Elena and Darcy both glanced over at Robbie who was taking deep cleansing breaths.

“I’m afraid you may get your wish, Darcy.”

Darcy looked from Robbie to Chase, “What are you doing, honey?”

His eyes darted over the computer monitor, occasionally hitting a few keys on the keyboard. “If we’re burning this place to the ground, we need to make sure Zola is still in it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Under Pressure, David Bowie and Queen


	36. A Dance of Liberty

Jane

“I know you guys need to rest, but we need to move. We need to find the others,” Jane commanded.

Jane looked at Scott and Hope again. Dark circles were under their eyes and they were so pale. So thin.

She pulled out the beacon from her pocket and fiddle with it. With a little push, she activated it and handed it to Hope. “The Avengers are on their way. We’ll get you home.”

Hope shook her head. “Bucky. We have to find Bucky.”

“Darcy too,” Jane admitted. “She’s here somewhere. That’s why I have Gretel… “ Jane shook her head with irritation at herself. “Geez, I’m supposed to be a genius and I didn’t even think… Here!”

She tried to hand the flerken over to Scott but he shook his head too. “Bucky. We’ll find Bucky first. Besides, I don’t want to go on a tour of naked Steves.”

Gretel let out a little harrumph-like noise, to which Hope responded, “No demon fuzzball, no one is going to ever let you live that down.”

“Sorry guys, I’m not giving you a choice,” Jane shoved Gretel into Hope’s arms and then shoved Hope back so that she stumbled into Scott. Normally, this wouldn’t have been something that Jane could have done. Hope was much stronger than Jane. But Hope had fallen back like a feather. “Get them to Wakanda, Gretel.”

The flerken blinked them away and Jane stood there alone. It was the right thing to do, Jane told herself. Still, she was alone in a Hydra base with no escape route.

“Okay,” she said to herself. “Time to find Darcy.”

Darcy

“Are you saying you can kill Zola?” Elena asked the teenager who was diligently poking at keys on the keyboard.

Darcy cringed at the way Elena’s voice echoed against the concrete walls of the Hydra base.

“No. But I have him trapped. I’ve disabled all internet access. He can’t escape the facility that way. My friend Alex, though. He can probably create a virus to eliminate him.”

“We already have a virus,” Robbie told him, glancing out the door to the hallway, looking for soldiers. “We just need to get it here.”

“I can probably send out a beacon from here…” Chase began to offer.

“No,” Darcy interrupted. “I want Bucky in my…sights,” she sighed in frustration, she had wanted so badly to say that she needed Bucky in her arms. “They could take him somewhere else or do something else to him. I need to see him. I need to know we are in the right place. Besides, Gretel is going to bring someone. I know she will.”

“Yeah, but who?” Robbie asked.

“I don’t know yet… “

“So we’ll just wander aimlessly through the base until we find Bucky? Sounds like a plan,” Elena shrugged. “Why don’t I do a quick recon?”

“We stay together,” Darcy insisted.

“Well, we don’t have to wander aimlessly. There are schematics here.” Chase pointed to the computer. “You know, a map? The treatment room is clearly marked…”

Darcy grabbed Chase’s head and kissed the top of it, “Chase honey, I think I love you. Let’s go get my husband.”

Darcy expected Robbie to protest. But somehow he got caught up in her enthusiasm and let out a little laugh, “Anyone ever tell you you’re reckless and crazy?”

“Yep. And we’re about to go rescue him.”

Daisy

It felt good, Daisy admitted to herself.

When they flew away from the base and Daisy looked down at the pile of rubble that she had reduced it to, it felt really good. She fought off the smile that kept threatening to emerge.

At the back of the jet, Mack sat stoically. The implant had been removed. Shuri’s analysis revealed that Mack had been kept in a catatonic state when he wasn’t being forced to feed bad intel to the Avengers. He had been used by their enemy while Elena, Scott, and Hope had been captives. Ironically, the one person that would understand the most was currently in the grasp of Hydra himself.

Up in the cockpit, Daisy heard T’Challa exclaim, “Katherine, you are driving me insane!”

“What are you doing to him, Katie?” Daisy called out with a chuckle.

“Nothing! I just asked if we were there yet.”

“Seven times!” T’Challa protested, “She has asked seven times!”

“And the answer is?” Daisy challenged.

Nakia answered for her exasperated fiancée, “Tony and his group will get there in approximately ten minutes. We’ll be a bit behind that. The rest of the Avengers shouldn’t be far behind us.”

“That is if we’re right about the coordinates,” she sighed.

“Ugh,” Kate complained, “Don’t be a Daisy Downer. They’re the right coordinates.”

“Agents,” T’Challa interrupted, “We have a beacon.” The King let a bright smile cross his face, “The same coordinates.”

“See?” Nakia smiled, “We’re on the right…”

She was interrupted when both Sam and Miles let out shouts from the secure section of the plane where they were watching the Hydra prisoners.

Tandy

“Tandy,” Rhodey said quietly. “Stay with me, okay?”

“I can handle myself,” she protested, laying a calming hand on Lace’s head. Gwen, Gert, and Tony had already lowered themselves into the tunnel that led to the Hydra base.

“Humor me, kid. Protecting you is the least I can do for Barnes after I tried to kidnap his wife.”

“Hydra tried to kidnap his wife,” Tandy corrected. “Just like Hydra is responsible for everything they made Ty do. And everything they made Bucky do.” Tandy’s hand glowed white and a dagger emerged in her hand. “And now, we make them pay.”

“Jesus, Darcy deserves you. Smartass, stubborn ass impulsive…” Rhodey continued to mumble under his breath as they entered the base.

Daisy

“Steve?” Daisy spoke into her communicator, “We’re five minutes out. What’s your ETA?”

“We’re not far behind you. Maybe twenty-five minutes.”

“I think this will be over before you land. Tony’s plane has gone radio silent for their descent to the base. Listen, we have a situation.”

Steve let out a little scoffing sound, “Honestly, Daisy, what isn’t a situation today?”

“We lost one of our prisoners.”

“Lost like…how?”

Daisy let out a shaky sigh, “Ty Johnson appeared on the jet. He took Vermis.”

“Dammit,” Daisy heard Steve let out the little curse before he spoke to her. “They could be anywhere then.”

“There’s something else. Ty brought us, Derrick Bishop. Bishop seems to think that Ty is starting to break programming. He said that Ty was hoping that Vermis could somehow lead him to Tandy. They thought they were going back to the base.”

“But instead, Vermis ended up on your jet, and Tandy got re-routed to Bucky’s rescue mission.”

“And I kind of destroyed the base.”

“We’ll talk about that later, Agent Johnson. You could have destroyed some valuable intel.”

“Lecture me later, Steve. We need to rescue Bucky & Darcy. Then we will try to save Ty.”

Derrick Bishop came out of the back of the plane with Kate. “We went through there.”

“What?” Daisy asked.

“The other base. We went in, for just a few seconds, then he brought me here. I guess he was zeroed in on Vermis.”

“You hear that, Steve?” Daisy asked over the communicator.

“I did. Sounds like we’re headed the right direction. Get there as quickly as you can, Agent Johnson. And watch out for Dr. Foster.”

“Will do. Johnson out.”

Daisy sighed again and looked over at Kate. “I hope we aren’t too late.”

“Too late to rescue Bucky? Or too late to stop Jane from burning the base to the ground?” Kate asked.

Daisy gave him a half-smile, “Katie, once we rescue Bucky I will HELP Jane burn the place to the ground. Even if it means facing Steve’s eyebrows of disappointment.”

Tandy

Tandy froze.

The witch stood in front of the group, her eyes glowed black.

Gert tried to step forward, “Niko?”

Tony held out his arm to hold her back.

Similarly, Rhodes held out an arm to stop Tandy.

And where was Gwen?

Tandy looked up and saw her, she quickly leveled her eyes back to the witch, so that she wouldn’t follow Tandy’s gaze.

The witch tapped her staff on the ground and opened her mouth. A web shot over her open mouth and a second later another web came down from the ceiling and pulled the staff up to where Gwen was waiting.

Tandy let out a little sigh of relief as Gwen wrapped the witch’s arms in webs.

“I’ll take her back to the jet,” Rhodes volunteered.

Gert started arguing about whether she was going to go back to the jet too. Tony piped in his opinion. And Tandy ignored them all. She pushed forward, looking for Bucky. And soon, after a few turns of the corner, she was on her own.

Darcy

“You doing okay?” Darcy asked Robbie for the third time as they crept in and out of rooms and hallways towards the treatment room. Elena was running ahead and making sure the path was clear, but it was still nerve-wracking.

“I’ll be fine,” he muttered.

Elena dashed back, breathless. “He’s in the chair. Right now. Hurry!”

She dashed away before Darcy could reply but not before she felt sick. “No,” she whispered. She looked up as the lights flickered. And then she ran, ran down the hall as fast as she could. She didn’t notice Robbie or Chase body checking the guards that emerged from some of the doors.

She just ran.

Steve

“Stop it,” Natasha muttered.

Steve stopped moving and let his shoulders slump. They were way behind the others. Daisy was right, this would probably be over before they landed at the Hydra base. He looked around the large plane they affectionately called the bus. The entirety of Delta team, Peter Parker, Clint, Coulson, and Natasha were all sitting calmly, preparing for their landing.

Meanwhile, Steve couldn’t stop pacing.

In order to keep Natasha from scolding him again, he purposefully strode to the cockpit.

“Twenty minutes,” Agent May told him, without him even asking the question. “How’s Mack?”

“The programming has been removed. He’s in the best hands possible with Shuri,” Steve assured her. They sat in silence for a minute before Steve added, “They lost Vermis.”

One single eyebrow shot up and May asked, “Lost as in dead?”

“No. Lost as in lost.”

“Damn. I’d hoped he was dead.”

Tandy

It all seemed too easy.

Tandy turned a corner and he was just there, looking like the lost little boy she had met so long ago.

“Ty?”

He took a half step back and shook his head like he was shaking out the cobwebs. In his hand, he held a ballet slipper. Hers.

She didn’t approach. She just held out her hand. “Ty. It’s me. Tandy.”

He frowned, first at her and then the slipper.

“Here,” she reached out towards him. “Take my hand. It’s all right. Trust me.”

He took a few steps forward in response to her coaxing. And when their fingertips met, white lights and dark clouds hit and exploded, knocking them back.

“Tandy?” he spoke before she did.

“Thank God,” she crawled over to him and feathered kisses over his face. “Thank God.”

Elena

Elena darted ahead and grabbed Darcy before she got any farther down the hall by herself. Running into Elena probably felt like being in a car wreck to Darcy. Elena had to give her credit, Darcy just shook herself off and growled, “Let me go.”

“Not by yourself.”

Before Darcy could respond, an announcement came from overhead. “Intruder alert. Intruder alert.”

“We’re busted,” Chase muttered.

“If we’re busted, why aren’t the guards coming after us?” Robbie looked around for Hydra troops, but none materialized.

“It must be the others, the other teams,” Elena thought aloud.

“And Zola is going to want to get Bucky out of here. Please, let me stop him!” Darcy begged.

Elena looked at Darcy and said sternly, “We go together.” Then she looked past Darcy and her eyes widened, “Oh crap.”

Darcy, Robbie, and Chase turned to see a teenage girl at the end of the hallway. “Karolina,” Chase muttered.

“She a friend of yours?” Elena asked.

“Sure. Before she was brainwashed.”

Elena took a deep breath. “She have powers?”

“Oh yeah. Lots of powers.”

“You think you can break her programming?”

Chase nodded, “I can try.”

Elena took charge again and made the decision, “Robbie, get Darcy to Bucky. Chase and I will hold her off. GO.”

Darcy

They managed to make it to within a few yards of the treatment room before they were faced with Hydra goons.

Robbie’s eyes glowed yellow and flames flickered off the end of his fingertips, but he stopped just short of releasing the Ghost Rider.

Darcy was weaponless but determined to slither by the guards to get to Bucky. One got his hands on her. He twisted her arm behind her back and Darcy screamed and cursed.

“Hey!”

A blinding white dagger shot by her head and into the goon’s shoulder. As soon as Darcy was released, she reached out, “Tandy! Come on!”

Darcy was somehow unsurprised that Tandy was pulling Ty along with her. His eyes were clear and bright, obviously released from his programming.

Darcy, Robbie, and Tandy pushed their way to the treatment room door. Tandy turned and released a white-hot surge of energy, pushing the guards back. Darcy slammed into the door and screamed in frustration. “It’s locked!”

“Hold onto each other,” Ty instructed. 

Her stomach felt like it had been pulled inside out when she popped through the door with the others in a plume of black smoke. Traveling via flerken was worse, but not by much. Guards started yelling. Robbie and Tandy were fighting them. But Darcy barely registered any of it. In the monstrosity of a chair sat her Bucky. And a mechanical voice rang out from speakers all around them, “Soldier, kill them.”

Bucky’s eyes snapped open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ch title taken from Black & White by Three Dog Night.


	37. I'm Standing on My Own Two Feet

Darcy

His eyes were dull. Almost lifeless. That little spark of mischief was missing. Even the deep despair that she had become so good at driving away… there was no sign of it in those cool grey eyes.

Zola repeated the command again, “Soldier, kill them.”

Bucky took two steps towards her before he stopped.

Darcy raised her chin in defiance, unaware of what else was happening in that room. Not registering at all that her companions were engaged in combat with the Hydra guards. All that mattered was him. She kept her eyes locked on his.

She was going to bring him back.

Her voice was calm and steady, even though she felt neither of those things. “Bucky, do you remember your mission?”

His head cocked slightly to the side. A little flash of recognition crossed his features.

“Your mission? Do you remember?” She repeated.

“Soldier!” Zola’s voice echoed through the room, “Follow orders.”

His eyes went dark again and he took another menacing step towards her.

Chase

Chase was irritated for precisely three reasons. First, Karolina wasn’t responding to his attempts to break her brainwashing. Second, she had blinded him with her powers. And third, he had “Blinded By the Light” stuck in his head. And it was annoying.

“This isn’t working!” Elena called out.

Chase ran into a wall. “Ya think?”

“Every time I run at her she just blasts me!” Elena complained. But she wasn’t complaining about being blind, so that was a win.

“Karolina, listen to me. You aren’t Hydra. We’re good people. We ran away from our parents because they were just like Hydra. Would you please listen to me?”

Another blast landed next to him, causing the wall to shake. He was just glad she missed. When they were kids they used to play catch in Alex’s yard. Karolina was terrible at it. Thank god.

“I’m beginning to think the two of you weren’t as close as you claim,” Elena snarked.

“Hey! I’m trying! Do you have any better ideas?”

A voice resonated down the hall. It was familiar from all of the man’s television appearances. Chase almost couldn’t believe he was hearing it live and in person. It was the voice of his idol.

“How about some reinforcements?”

“Tony Stark,” Chase exhaled the name in relief.

Another voice asked, “What am I, chopped liver?”

“You always use that expression, Rhodey,” Stark complained. “It’s getting a little repetitive.”

Chase heard another blast land near Elena, who promptly complained, “Are you two gonna stand there bickering, or are you going to blast her?”

“Oh,” Stark remarked, “Sorry.”

A different type of blast echoed in the hallway followed by the thunk of someone hitting the ground.

“Is she okay?” Chase asked.

“She’s fine. So’s your little witch friend. We’ve got her back on the quinjet.” Chase saw a shadow of a shrug as his eyes adjusted. Then Stark added, “You got a name, kid?”

“Um…. Chase? Chase Stein.”

Agent James Rhodes teased, “You seem unsure about that, kid. Who’s Lucy in the Sky over here?”

“Karolina Dean.”

Chase’s eyes adjusted enough to see Tony Stark pick up and cradle Karolina in his arms.

“Well, Karolina Dean and Chase Stein we have a Gertrude Yorkes and a dragon that are very eager to see you,” Tony said.

“How’s Mack?” Elena asked Rhodes.

“Oh, …he’s pissed. So was I. Brainwashing sucks.”

“Please,” she scoffed, taking Chase by the arm, “You should try being sedated for weeks on end. I’ve got you, Chase. How’s your vision?”

“Blurry,” he admitted.

“Hey, kid?” Stark asked as he led them out, “Now that Mack is now officially too pissed off to be Alpha team's spokesperson, do you want the job?”

Tandy

“She’s going to get killed,” Ty said, just before he disappeared with a guard in his grasp.

Tandy didn’t know where Ty was depositing the bad guys. She didn’t ask and she didn’t care. She trusted her partner. And she knew he was right. Zola kept screaming at Bucky, who kept stalking towards Darcy. And Darcy wasn’t backing down. She wasn’t moving from that spot, even as the fight waged on around her.

“Robbie? Any chance you can shut that asshole up?”

Tandy looked over at her ally and cursed. Robbie wasn’t in control anymore. The flaming skull of the Ghost Rider stared at her from its flame-filled eye sockets. “Hey!” She shoved a dagger into a guard and stalked over to the Ghost Rider. With no sense of self-preservation at all, she grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him towards a computer monitor where Zola’s bug-eyed face was screaming commands. “You want vengeance?” Tandy put Robbie’s hands on the monitor, “Go for it!”

Miles

Norman Osborn came to a skidding halt when he saw Gwen emerge from around the corner, blocking his path. He turned his head slightly towards the other corner, probably debating if he should make a run for it.

What he didn’t know was that he had run right by Miles. And around that other corner was something even scarier than Gwen. Miles let an arrogant half-grin slide over his features as he stepped forward, shedding his cloak of invisibility.

Not that Osborn could have seen the grin behind Miles’s mask. Nor could he see Miles standing behind him. But over Osborn’s shoulder, Miles knew Gwen was answering his grin with one of her own. And that was the point.

“You going somewhere, Mr. Osborn?” Gwennie asked.

“My little spider,” Osborn whispered.

Miles shot a web out that wrapped around Osborn’s arms and turned him one hundred and eighty degrees to face him. “Spiders. Plural,” Miles corrected.

Miles watched in complete satisfaction as Norman Osborn’s eyes widened in terror when a third voice echoed in the hallway, “Two spiders and one pissed off deinonychus.”

Lace let out a little roar, even as both Gert and Gwen rubbed her head.

Gert continued, “She didn’t appreciate being a science experiment.”

“And neither did we,” Miles asserted, nose to nose with the man who had wanted to create an army of kids just like him.

“I didn’t… I made you into superheroes!”

“No, Mr. Osborn,” Miles corrected, “We did that ourselves.”

Robbie

There was something there. Robbie didn’t even think Darcy could see it, not in the state Bucky was in. But it was there and the Ghost Rider could feel it. Despair, anger, frustration, longing, vengeance.

It was more than Robbie could hold onto. He could feel the Ghost Rider emerging. Ripping and burning Robbie away until only a small bit of him remained.

What Zola had done to Bucky was the same thing that the Ghost Rider was doing to Robbie. But the demon inside him didn’t understand irony. It understood two things; vengeance and hunger.

He felt Tandy’s hands on his. The Rider tried to flare up, to punish her for whatever wrongdoings were in her past. But Robbie pushed back. The Rider couldn’t have her. Not when such a feast awaited.

Robbie called out to the demon in his body, “Take all the vengeance you want. Choke on it.”

It wasn’t like taking from a person. The demon reached out through circuits and wires causing the power to flicker. There was no screaming as the energy was being drained. This vengeance tasted different on Robbie’s lips. The echoes of those Zola had wronged whispered thanks instead of demanding Zola’s pain. Some of the echoes sounded familiar. Tony Stark. Steve Rogers. And over them all, was the sound of Bucky. This wasn’t vengeance. It was justice.

And somehow, when all that was left of Zola had been stripped away, the Rider felt satisfied.

Sam

“What was that?” Sam looked up at the flickering lights before he shot another Hydra guard with his ICER.

“I don’t know, but it’s pissing me off!” Daisy replied. Under her breath, she muttered, “I don’t know how anyone expects me to upload this virus when the power keeps flickering.” She tapped her communicator and asked, “T’Challa, are you guys responsible for the power going out?”

“We are not,” he assured her with his honey-like voice. “Nor have we located Barnes, Darcy, or Jane Foster.”

“Well keep looking, they’re around here somewhere.”

Six more guards came storming into the room, and all of them headed towards Sam. It was funny that they thought he was the threat when Daisy was the one with the powers. “A little help here, Baby Girl?”

She looked up from the computer and her face hardened. Her eyes narrowed and she raised her right hand. Six blasts of concussive energy radiated out of her hand, each hitting a guard in the chest and sending them into the concrete walls. “Do I have to everything around here, Sam?”

“God, I love you,” he replied. “Hey, after this is all over, you want to get married?”

She grinned and sat back down in front of her keyboard, “I suppose I can pencil you in for next Tuesday. But only if you keep the goons off my back while I set off this virus….what? What the hell?”

“What is it?”

“Zola is gone.”

Sam felt his stomach drop into his knees. “He escaped?”

“No…there are fragments of his code…” She furrowed her brow and then raised her eyes up to his. A grin spread across her face, “He’s gone!”

Darcy

Darcy refused to panic. That’s what she told herself, over and over.

Hands that had caressed her skin were around her neck. Lips that usually smiled at her were twisted in a snarl. And his eyes… they still were dead.

“Babe,” she whispered, “please. Your mission. It’s to protect me.”

She felt her right side being pulled and she looked up, into the frightened brown eyes of Tandy. She was pulling on Bucky’s arm, begging him to let go. But he didn’t know her either.

Darcy looked deep into Tandy’s eyes and gave a comforting smile, “He’s not squeezing, pumpkin.”

She saw Tandy’s gaze dart over to Bucky’s hands to verify that Darcy was telling her the truth. His hands were firmly around her neck. But there was no pressure. He was defying Zola.

Darcy dared to push farther, “James Buchanan Barnes,” she said calmly, “Your mission is to protect me. And mine is to protect you. And you will obey me, even if I took obey out of our wedding vows.”

A flicker crossed his features. Not much. But enough. And the fingers around her neck twitched.

Steve

“This looks like an Avengers car lot, but with jets,” Tony Stark quipped to Steve as he emerged from the Hydra base with a girl in his arms.

Steve was not in the mood. They were disembarking without much in the way of difficulty. The Hydra forces seemed to be more concerned with what was going on inside the base than outside. Still, it wasn’t the time or place.

Fitz motioned for Stark to give him the girl, “What’s the situation?”

“Good kid brainwashed by bad people. Just like the witch. I had to blast her,” Tony shrugged.

“I’ll take her to Jemma.”

Meanwhile, YoYo gave a brief wave and escorted another kid up the ramp of the bus, probably to see about Mack.

A few seconds later, another group of familiar faces emerged from the base. Miles, Gwen, and the girl that they had rescued earlier, the one with the dinosaur and purple hair came out with a prisoner in tow.

Natasha promptly took Norman Osborn into custody. Before Steve could praise the group of kids Agent Johnson’s voice came in over the communicator in his ear, “Cap? It’s Daisy.”

“Report,” he said without preamble.

“I’m sending you a file, there’s a map here of all of the Hydra bases.” After a beat, she announced, “It’s uploaded to you. Gabe should have it too.”

“It’s been received,” Gabe announced over the communicator.

Tony’s eyes widened with delight and he smiled at Steve. With a few flicks of his wrist, he projected a world map, with all of the bases highlighted.

“Good work, Quake,” Steve said, “We’ll get on this as soon as we have Bucky.”

“This one’s near DC,” Tony pointed out, “I’ll let Clint and Coulson know.”

An unexpected voice piped up, “We should send teams now. While we have the element of surprise.”

Steve swiveled to face Miles. He furrowed his brow trying to decide how to look down at the kid without it seeming like he was ‘looking down’ at him. “I’m not leaving without Bucky and Darcy.”

He watched Miles pull his shoulders back and take a deep breath, “With all due respect, sir. Agent Barnes has Tandy and his whole team in there. We have a chance to wipe out Hydra completely before they know we’re coming. We have to. Tactically it’s the right decision.”

Everyone was silent, awaiting Steve’s response. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Natasha emerging from the plane. She’d heard everything and her eyebrows were raised in surprise. Peter Parker and Shuri were on the ramp as well. He looked dumbstruck and she looked quite pleased.

Steve blinked a few times but it was Stark who responded to Miles, “Right. You heard Agent Morales. Let’s divide and conquer. Rhodes and I will head to the one in Rio.”

“I shall accompany you,” Vision said.

The two men took off in their suits with Vision close behind them.

Thor asked Miles, “You will stay and find Jane?” When the young man nodded, Thor extended his hand to Wanda, “Agent Maximoff would you like to accompany me to the Alps?”

She tucked herself against him and he spun his hammer until he took flight.

Just before he became a silver-colored streak, Pietro said, “I’ll race you,” and took off after them.

Over the communicator, Gabe advised, “I have asked the Defenders to assist with Hydra’s New York operation.”

Then an otherworldly voice echoed in the air, “Wong and I will handle Hong Kong.”

Peter Parker complained about Dr. Strange’s intrusion into their thoughts, “How does he...? He doesn’t even have a communicator. That’s creepy.”

Shuri bumped his hip with hers, “Says the man with Spider senses.”

“You...” Peter stammered, “you said you liked that.”

She grinned widely and then told Steve, “I believe it would be prudent for me to remain here. I would like to keep tabs on my brothers and assist with Agent Barnes’s recovery.”

“Captain?” Gabe asked, “Will you be raiding the San Diego base?”

Steve argued, “The bus has all the prisoners. Someone needs to guard it. And FitzSimmons and Shuri need protection.”

He heard Shuri let out a little scoff.

Miles took off his mask and looked Steve right in the eye. Earnestness was oozing out of every pore. “Captain, Gwen and I have got this. Take the zephyr. Wipe Hydra out so they never rise again.”

Steve saw himself reflected there. Miles was so sure. So confident. Steve felt his head beginning to nod in agreement before he realized what he was doing, “Agent Morales, Agent Stacy, you’re in charge of the prisoners. Natasha. May. Banner. Parker. You’re with me.”

Tandy

With her eyes locked on Darcy’s, Tandy almost didn’t hear Ty pop in. But she felt him. She felt his reassuring presence at her back.

“Tandy, blast him. He’s going to kill her.”

“He won’t,” her voice sounded small to her, quiet. And Ty must have missed that little bit of hope in it. Because she heard that little scoff of disbelief that he always made when she said something he thought was crazy.

“You don’t know that. Blast him.”

“They’re like us,” Tandy insisted, never relinquishing her grip on Bucky’s arm or letting her eyes fall from Darcy’s. She’d held his arm like this, when she first met him. It had been a source of comfort. Now, she hoped that he felt the same thing. That she was there, and she wasn’t going to let go of another father figure. Not ever again.

“Like us?”

“Soulmates. A divine pairing. Whatever you want to call it.”

“Are they magic?” Ty asked.

“No.”

From beside her, Robbie said in a voice clearer and more purposeful and… joyful than she’d ever heard before, “Then let’s use our magic then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title from Another One Bites the Dust, by Queen


	38. I'm Livin For Givin the Devil His Due

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The penultimate chapter....

The Soldier

The soldier didn’t understand why he had such a hard time following orders. They were simple enough. Kill them.

The woman in his grasp was fragile. Small. He could have broken her neck without any effort. But…

There was something in her eyes. Something familiar. Something safe.

And the girl. He didn’t want to kill the girl. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to protect them both.

The woman… he felt like she was somehow part of him.

But he was a soldier. And he had orders. He was supposed to kill them.

So why was he allowing them, the girl and the boy, and the woman, surround him?

Tactically, that made no sense.

But there was something in her eyes….

And in her voice…

The girl, with her big brown eyes, moved just enough to capture him with her gaze. It was hard for him, pulling his eyes away from the woman.

“Hey,” the girl said, “We need you to trust us. Can you trust us?”

He listed for orders from the man in the machine. But no orders came.

On his other side, the boy moved to touch his left arm. The soldier flinched, ever so slightly.

“It’s okay, Bucky,” the girl said. “We’re going to help you.”

The woman spoke then, “What are you going to do?”

“Magic,” the girl replied with a smile. She shifted her focus to the man that stood by the door. “Robbie?”

“I’ve got your backs, but make it quick.”

Outside the door, the soldier could hear the guards trying to get inside. The door on the other side of the room remained undisturbed.

“Bucky? Are you ready?” the girl asked.

The soldier didn’t know how to respond. That was when the woman raised her hands and took his hands from their place encircling her neck. She held both his hands and said for him. “We’re ready.”

“Ty and I are going to go into your memories, okay? We can do that when we’re together,” He was surprised when the girl began to glow and the air around the boy turned black and cloudy. Surprised, but not startled. Because it was so slow. So gentle. And it enveloped him until the world disappeared and he was seeing a whole different world.

_The woman had her arms around his neck and sang, softly and intimately, “The baddest man in the whole darned town.”_

_The memory shifted. The girl had her hand in his. _ _“Totally knew you were a pancakes guy, by the way.”_

_“What are you talking about, pumpkin?”_

_“The way you hold hands. This way is pancakes. When you lace your fingers together, it's waffles." She asked knowingly, "It's waffles with Darcy, isn't it?” _

_Another memory emerged. “I feel like... it doesn't feel like we just met. Which is crazy, right?”_

_“Dunno.” His fingers stopped gliding over her hand for a beat and then started up again. “It's not that crazy.”_

_“You feel it too,” she asserted, looking at him again._

_“Yeah. I feel it too.”_

_Another shift. He stuck out his right hand to shake hers and she blurted out, “Darcy Lewis. I know Thor.”_

_The memory shifted again to an alley. _

_“Ma'am?”_

_“Chill out, my dude. No one is interested in kidnapping me. I'm not one of the big brains. Only reason I'm remotely special is that I know Thor.”_

_The scene changed. They were in a cabin. He could hear the cicadas singing. “I won't hurt you,” she promised, “Not ever. If you're hurt by something else or if you're sick than I'll take care of you. And whenever you're lost, I'll find you. No matter what, I will find you.”_

The voices… memories… he couldn’t stop hearing them, seeing them. The girl… she was clutching to his arm in the back of a jet. The woman, she was smiling at him. And then he was enveloped in her arms. Mesmerized by her touch, her scent….

_“I swear to you, if I get the chance, I am burning HYDRA to the ground.”_

_“I believe you. You're formidable enough to take them down.”_

_“Damn straight,” she sniffled. “I'll take Jane with me.”_

_“Then they're doomed.”_

Gentle waves of memories cascaded over him. Until suddenly, the wave reversed and crashed away.

Robbie

Robbie was losing. The Ghost Rider was satiated, full to the hilt from feeding on Zola. Robbie kept trying to pull more of his powers out, but the Rider was lazy from his meal like his uncle used to get on Thanksgiving.

A half a dozen guards had made it into the room. Robbie defeated them, but a dozen more were trying to gain entry. Robbie counted his blessings that the second door, the one made of steel, seemed to be firmly locked.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the room, Tandy, Ty, Bucky, and Darcy were trancelike and enveloped in waves of black and white. Gold and silver mists rose from Bucky and Darcy, spiraling above them.

This was taking too long.

Robbie’s own frustration, his own need for vengeance against the creature that shared his body roared out. “You won’t help me fight?” he asked the Rider, “then you’ll help me reverse a mistake.”

Robbie shoved a chair under the door handle and stalked over to the group that stood in the middle of the group and put his hands on each side of Bucky’s face. He turned the man to look at him. He heard Tandy and Darcy protest. He felt the kid, Ty pull at him. But the Rider flared up, overwhelmed with too much vengeance it began to push against itself. The waves that Bucky was surrounded by became a tidal wave of black, white, silver, and gold, feathering together and crashing against the floor only to rise and crash again.

Kate

“Did you know that I killed Thanos?”

Kate held the bow steady, her arrow pointed directly at his heart.

Otto Vermis, the man who wanted to become the supreme leader of Hydra stood in front of her, his hands to the sky. Guards lay incapacitated by sedatives around him. All of them had an arrow in their thigh.

“Please…” he said ever so quietly.

Kate kept it short. “I felt bad about it. You know why?”

She let the arrow fly.

“Because I’m not a genocidal maniac.”

The arrow split before it hit him. Two vibranium nets wrapped around his body in each direction.

“I call that the Spider-Man arrow. You have to respect the gear, you know?” Into her communicator, she called out, “I’ve got Vermis, in case anyone is interested.”

She pulled another arrow from her quiver and tapped a few Skittles from her Skittles arrow into her mouth. “Sorry. I’m a little hangry.” She took another mouthful and asked, “So… you’re keeping my best friend hostage. Tell me where he is, and I may let you have one of the green ones. But not a purple one. Those are my favorites.”

Bucky

Bucky didn’t know when he had fallen to his knees. That was a blur.

But nothing else was.

He looked up at Darcy who stood in front of him, wringing her hands with distress. She looked so beautiful, even with her brow furrowed in concern. He probably should have warned her before he took her in his arms and kissed her. His hands cupped her face and as just as she gave a little gasp of surprise, he captured her bottom lip with his.

He registered Ty’s voice saying, “I think it worked.”

“Jesus, the lights are beautiful,” Tandy commented.

Bucky released his wife just enough to glance up at the magical lights, gold and silver wound upwards, twining together

He looked back down at Darcy, who’s eyes were still on his face with no concern of the magics that surrounded them.

“Babe?” she asked.

“Hey, Sassy,” he replied with a grin.

Her eyes lit up with joy, “What do you remember?”

“Everything,” he promised with a smile.

“That’s adorable,” Robbie yelled, “But could I get some help here?”

As soon as Bucky and Darcy stopped touching, the lights faded away.

Robbie was at the door to the treatment room, holding off dozens of Hydra guards. Bucky went to his side and pulled two guards into the room to knock out. Then he opened the door for two more. Then two more. While they fought, Bucky asked, “What did you do to me?”

“Overstuffed the Rider on vengeance. I figured he’d have to spit out some absolution.”

“Risky,” Bucky warned him.

“It worked. And I owed you.”

“You didn’t. But thank you.” Bucky pulled another guard through the door who was promptly whisked away by Ty. “That all of them?”

Robbie shrugged, “I think so.”

“Good,” Bucky growled and stalked back over to Darcy. He pulled her back into his arms and delighted in the little gasp she made just before he pulled her in tight. With her cheek against his chest, she giggled, “I missed you too, babe.”

He pulled back to look at her. Her big blue eyes were glistening with unshed tears. “You always seem to find me, Sassy.”

“I always will.”

Tandy let out a little sniffle, and he smiled at her. He extended an arm and invited her into the hug, “C’mere, Pumpkin.”

She snuggled in next to him and he let out a little sigh. “My girls.”

He could hear Robbie and Ty shuffling around, but they were allowing them to have their family reunion. Finally, Bucky took a breath and let Darcy and Tandy go, “We should get out of here. Darce, where is your ICER?”

“Ummm….”

“Don’t tell me. You raided a HYDRA facility without a weapon.”

“Guilty. But in my defense, I was Gretel-ed here.”

He sighed again, “Our cat is a verb. All right stay behind me. Okay?”

“Cross my heart.”

“What about the other door?” Tandy asked.

“We don’t know where it leads. Better to stick with what we’re familiar with,” Bucky explained.

Robbie was at the door with the window, so Bucky asked, “We clear?”

Instead of a response, Robbie let out a little gasp and wrenched the door open. They all scrambled to follow him, Bucky keeping his wife and Tandy behind him. Bucky peered out the door first to see Robbie swinging Kate around in a hug. When he put her down, Kate smiled brightly at Bucky and chirped, “Hey there Dumb Ass! How you feeling?”

“C’mere Katie-Kate” Bucky demanded, holding his arms out for a hug. While he held her tight, he asked, “Daisy?”

“She’s safe,” Kate promised, “She’s with Sam.”

“Good.”

He released Kate and then asked one last burning question, “Has anyone seen my cat?”

As if on cue, the steel door on the other side of the room slammed open. Standing there, with soot covering her face, a flame thrower in her hands, and Gretel on her shoulder, was Jane.

“Well, it’s about time I found you! I was beginning to think I’d have to burn this place down by myself!” she announced.

Bucky opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was, “Whaa?”

Darcy fared a little bit better. She breathlessly asked, “What the fuck?”

Gretel let out a sweet “mrooowr?”

“Do you know she’s eaten about twenty Hydra goons? You guys may want to cut back on her dinner tonight. So…” she aimed the flame thrower in the air and let off a little spurt of flame, “whaddya say we blow this popsicle stand?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title taken from Burnin for You by BOC


	39. We Can Be Heroes, Forever and Ever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rest Well, Chadwick. You will be missed, my king.

Three months later

Bucky

Darcy ran her hand over her belly, softly caressing the swell there. She grinned briefly and then frowned into the mirror. “Your daughter is messing with the fit of this dress.”

“You look beautiful, Sassy,” Bucky argued.

She scrunched up her nose, “I dunno.”

He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. Bucky kissed the outer shell of her ear and promised, “You’re gorgeous. Sexy and voluptuous.”

“That’s just a nice way of saying fat,” she teased, reaching back and smacking his hip.

“You’re not fat. You’re perfect. You’re a goddamn fantasy,” he promised with a growl.

She rocked her hips back against him and warned, “Stop that, you’ll get me worked up and we have a teenager in the next room.”

From the living area a voice called out, “And the walls are thin. Try not to scar me for life.”

Bucky barked out a laugh.

Their guest suite in Wakanda wasn’t as spacious as their new place in the Tower, where Tandy’s bedroom was on the other side of the apartment. Tandy gave a quick knock before she peeked her head in. “You guys ready? Or should I tell Nakia and T’Challa that you’re too busy to attend the royal wedding?”

“We’re coming, Pumpkin,” Bucky smiled at her and gestured for her to open the door all the way. “I have something for you, come on in.”

Darcy smiled widely and handed Bucky the little jewelry box sitting on the nightstand.

“What’s this?” Tandy protested. “I don’t need….”

“Hush,” Bucky scolded. “We wanted to. Something to celebrate the adoption.”

Tandy took the box but didn’t open it. “I don’t really need anything else. You guys are…” she didn’t finish the sentence. But she really didn’t need to.

“Open it,” Darcy commanded.

Bucky watched his adopted daughter's face light up when she saw the simple stone on a vibranium chain. “What is this?”

As she turned the stone it looked a little pink, a little orange. It was almost the color of Tandy’s pointe shoes.

“It’s a sapphire,” Bucky explained. “A special one. Don’t ask me to pronounce it.”

“Padparadscha,” Darcy offered. “And be thankful, because he wanted to get you an orange garnet.”

“Because…pumpkin,” Bucky argued.

“Orange is a gross color,” Darcy sassed back. “This is perfect, though. Very you. You like it?”

“I love it.”

Darcy took the necklace from her hands and gestured for Tandy to turn so she could fasten it for her. Then Bucky’s wife and his daughter turned to admire themselves side by side in the mirror.

“Did I tell you about the first piece of jewelry Bucky gave me?”

“No,” Tandy did a quick survey of what Darcy was wearing.

“Oh, I’m not wearing it. Because it was a terrible gift.”

“C’mon Sassy, gimme a break,” Bucky protested.

“It was a repulser disk. Can you believe it? I only used it once.”

“On who?”

“On me,” Bucky responded with a chuckle, “Sent my ass skidding across the landing strip at the Tower. Almost sent me right over the edge.”

“You’re totally exaggerating.” Then with a mock conspiratorial tone, she told Tandy, “And he deserved it.”

“Are you two finished ganging up on me?”

“You better get used to it, Babe. And in about four months it will be three against one.”

“Four if you count Gretel,” Tandy reminded him.

Bucky let out a soft chuckle. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Bucky leaned against the bar at the outdoor reception, watching the drama unfold in front of him. Next to him, Sam stirred his drink with a broad bemused smile on his face.

“How are your parents settling in?” Steve asked Ty, handing the young man a club soda.

“They love it,” Ty admitted. “New York is very different from New Orleans. But they’re really appreciating the view from the Tower.”

“Best view in the world,” Tony Stark bragged. “Better than a dorm room at… where was it again?”

“Columbia,” Ty admitted. Bucky could see on his face that he knew what was coming. His expression was somewhere between terror and amusement.

“And you’re planning on majoring in…?” Steve prompted.

“Um... Comparative Literature?”

“Is that a question?” Tony asked. “What, you’re not sure?”

“Um…”

Steve ribbed, “And what about Avenging? Not something you’re interested in?”

“Well…um…”

“And what do you do with a degree in….” Tony snapped his fingers, pretending to forget.

Steve offered, “Comparative literature.”

“What do you do with a degree in Comparative literature?” Tony asked.

Ty straightened a bit and said easily, “Teach.”

“Well, shit,” Tony sighed, “I can’t razz on teachers. You are ruining my fun, kid.”

Bucky felt a tug on his jacket sleeve, “Please save him from your friends,” Tandy asked with pleading brown eyes.

With a smile at Steve, who could hear everything Tandy had said, Bucky offered, “You don’t need me to rescue him, kid. Go ahead. Let them have it.”

Tandy strode over, laced her arm in Ty’s looked Steve dead in the eye, and said, “Lay off, punk.”

Tony let out a roar of laughter. Then he and Steve made their way across the courtyard to Pepper and Natasha.

“That necklace looks pretty on Tandy,” Sam said. “It was a good choice. Nicer than a repulser disk.”

“There’s a GPS in the setting,” Bucky admitted. “Don’t tell Darcy.”

Sam smiled, “I didn’t think of that. Think Daisy would kill me if…?”

“If you put a tracker in her engagement ring? Yes. She’d kill you.” Bucky took a sip of his drink and then asked, “You figured out when you’re gonna ask?”

“Tomorrow,” Sam admitted. “Gonna have dinner on our balcony and get down on one knee. Nice and simple.”

“Sounds perfect, Sam. She’ll love it.”

Darcy

“Mmm’mazing,” Jane muttered.

“Mmm, hmm,” Hope agreed, downing her champagne in one gulp.

Darcy laughed at her group of friends, all of whom were a little bit buzzed and staring in appreciation at the same man.

“M’boyohboyohboy,” Jemma sighed.

Darcy felt Bucky approaching behind her. His hand came from behind and slid around her waist. “Hey Sassy, whatcha looking at?”

“My highly intelligent and otherwise independent friends are objectifying M’Baku.”

“For purely scientific reasons,” Jemma argued.

“Sure,” Bucky laughed. “Do I need to worry, Darce?”

“No, Babe. I’m all yours,” she turned in his arms and rose on her tiptoes in order to whisper in his ear, “What do you say we get out of here?”

She saw him glance over to make sure that Tandy was fully engaged in the group of teenagers at the edge of the party. When his attention was back on her, he asked, “How can I say no when you’re looking at me like that?”

“How am I looking at you?”

“Like you’re thinking of kissing me,” he winked.

She smiled as they replayed an earlier conversation from when they first fell in love. “Well, you’re wrong, my dear husband. I’m thinking about _you_ kissing _me_.”

As he kissed her, Darcy felt so lucky, safe, and loved. She took his hand and they walked back to the palace.

“Hey,” he asked. “Are the brainy ladies checking me out?”

Darcy glanced back and laughed, “Look all you want girls, but he’s mine.”

They walked past the dance floor where Kate & Robbie and Sam & Daisy were swaying to the music. Just as they reached the edge, a regal voice stopped them.

“I know you are not sneaking away from my wedding.”

Bucky turned to T’Challa with a smile, “Darcy’s tired.”

“You lie so easily,” the king laughed.

Nakia admitted, “I’m quite envious. I’d like to slip away too. It has been a long day.”

“Then do it,” Darcy said.

“We cannot,” T’Challa said.

“Why not? You’re the king.”

“She does have a point, my love,” Nakia rubbed T’Challa’s arm.

“Whatever my queen desires.”

Bucky pulled his friend into a quick hug, “Rest well, my brother.”

Darcy tugged Bucky towards the castle.

“You’ll miss the fireworks,” T’Challa protested.

“Wanna bet?” Darcy whispered to Bucky.

Bucky

Darcy handed Bucky a cup of tea and then curled up next to him on the patio sofa. Above them, fireworks lit up the sky.

“Penny for your thoughts, Babe.”

Bucky had too many thoughts to name just one. Zola was gone forever. Hydra was no longer a threat. He had a family and a wife who he loved. His friends and teammates were happy. He was…content. No…that wasn’t the right word.

“I’m fucking happy,” he responded.

Epilogue

Five Years Later

Doreen couldn’t believe she was actually here. Her companion voiced, “This is so effing cool! I wonder if Captain Marvel is here.”

Doreen nudged Kamala and nodded, “Look. It’s Hawkeye.”

“Which one?”

Kamala deflated a bit when she saw it was Clint Barton and not Kate Bishop. Kamala had a serious ‘girl-power’ thing.

Daisy Johnson tapped a communicator in her ear as she walked by the girls, “Morales, your recruits are here. And they brought in a squirrel.”

Off of the elevator came Darcy Barnes and Bucky Barnes. Doreen nudged Kamala again. “Look.”

“Would you relax, Babe?” Mrs. Barnes complained, “The doctor said I can have a cup of coffee. Girls? Would you tell your father to relax?”

From a couch in the corner was Dagger herself, and a little girl. “I’m not sure that’s possible. How was the ultrasound?”

“Twins,” Mrs. Barnes said, “Just like you said.”

The little girl launched herself into the arms of Agent Barnes, “Daddy! Auntie Nat is taking me to the Nutcracker!”

“That sounds like fun, Becca.” Then Agent Barnes looked over at Doreen and Kamala and smiled and nodded. He tapped the communicator and said the same thing Agent Johnson did, “Morales, your recruits are here.”

Across the room strode Iron Man. “I’m not upgrading the gauntlets, Chase,” he said to the young man who was following him

“The tech is six months old. Fitz wants to upgrade. Now hand them over.”

“You aren’t the boss of me!” Tony Stark protested.

Kamala tugged on Doreen’s sleeve. “Holy crap, that’s Captain America!”

“But I don’t want to,” Captain America whined.

Agents Hernandez and Dean both stood in front of him with their arms crossed over their chests. Agent Dean instructed, “I don’t care if you’re a super-soldier. The yearly physical is mandatory.”

“But Karolina…” he whined some more.

Agent Hernandez pointed to the elevator, “Medical, now.”

Agent Barnes laughed, “Better do what she says, Punk. Or Molly will pick you up and haul your ass down there.”

Agent Rhodes stepped off of the other elevator, saw Chase, and tried to turn around.

“Stop right there! Rhodes, I need your suit in the lab. The left thruster has an anomaly in the input differential.”

“I know, I know. You’re such a nag!”

“You think I’m a nag? How about I call Alex?”

“All right all right, I’m on my way. Jeez.”

On her right shoulder, Doreen’s squirrel began chittering nervously. Then, with a pop, a dinosaur appeared in the common area. And she had a cat on her head.

“No, no, no,” Mrs. Barnes scrambled over the back of a couch to get to the dinosaur and scolded the cat, “Take her back right now. Lace is not supposed to be in the common room. Gert is gonna get mad. Go!”

The dinosaur disappeared and Mrs. Barnes sighed, “Dodged a bullet. Whew.”

Kamala tugged on Doreen’s sleeve again and pointed over to Agent Reyes and Agent Minoru.

“You need to tell Wilson to stop taking unnecessary risks,” Agent Minoru scolded.

“He doesn’t listen to me, Nico. You tell him. He’s terrified of you.”

“I will tell him,” then she gave the two girls a glance and tapped her communicator. “Miles, your recruits are here.”

At the same time, Agent Reyes’s phone rang, “Hi love…yeah I’m back. Tell Peter and Shuri I’ll be there in fifteen minutes….well don’t let them eat all the cake… it's our wedding too… Okay. Love you.”

Agent Barnes slapped Agent Reyes playfully on the shoulder as he walked by, “Told you a double wedding was a crazy idea.”

“Seemed like a good one at the time.”

Finally, he appeared from a long hallway. Agent Morales. Doreen suppressed a sigh of admiration. On his right was Ghost Spider aka Agent Stacy and on his left was the Cloak aka Agent Johnson. Doreen was so awestruck she missed the beginning of the speech.

“…Welcome to the Avengers. I'm Miles. Spiderman. And you have been chosen because of your character and your gifts to join the earth's Mightiest Heroes.”

They were distracted by a squeal as Agent Barnes picked up Mrs. Barnes in a fireman’s carry.

The Dagger, Agent Bowen, came over and said, “We apologize for them...they can be a little much.”

“And they have entirely too much energy,” sighed Agent Stacy.

“I have Giants tickets!!” Yelled Agent Wilson as he burst off the elevator. “Who’s coming with me, besides my God-daughter and my little man?”

Agent Daisy Johnson shook her head and said, “You are not taking Becca or our son to a football game.”

“Why not?”

“Because it's too rowdy.”

“Baby girl, I live for rowdy.”

“They're a little loud,” Agent Morales admitted.

“But they'll fight for you,” Ty said.

“They'll risk everything for you,” added Tandy. “And they may even become your family.”

End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title taken from Heroes by Bowie.


End file.
